Spectacular dance rhythms of Israel

CHANTAL ABITBOL

START with a flamenco routine, all sweeping arms and stomping feet. Then add the pulsating rhythms of Middle Eastern belly dancing, some violin playing, a comedy sketch and a quirky percussion session -— with flippers.

It may sound like a hodgepodge of numbers, mixing disparate styles and cultural traditions. But it’s what makes up the theatrical spectacle known as Mayumana -— one of Israel’s most successful international touring acts -— which is set to make its Australian debut at the State Theatre this week.

“It’s not easy to classify this show,” says Eylon Nuphar, the dancing troupe’s co-founder. “It’s music, it’s theatre, it’s percussion, it’s dance, it’s wit. It’s us being ourselves, and basically anything goes.”

Based in Tel Aviv, Mayumana’s producers recruited its troupe of 10 dancers from all over the world for the high-energy act titled Momentum, and live by the credo “art with no borders”.

In one routine, Spanish-born Rosa Belen Roldan dazzles with flamenco dancing; in another, Israel-born Ido Stadler drums to his own beat, while Ivory Coast-born Jean Claude shows off his athleticism in hypnotic, trembling moves.

“We believe that the actors should play themselves on stage, and the key to the success of the show is that they are very happy and enjoy themselves,” says Nuphar’s partner, co-founder Boaz Berman.

But it’s also a challenge to unite all the cultural elements, he admits. “The people are from different artistic backgrounds, and they are very different from each other, so each one goes out quite strongly. It’s hard work [because] they need to be completely together in unison, but we work very hard on this aspect of the show, and it’s worth it.”

The group got its start from humble beginnings when Nuphar -— a former gymnast, musician and belly dancer -— teamed up with Berman, a fellow musician and producer, in 1996.

“We are musicians and percussionists, so we decided that the basis for the show would be rhythm. On top of this, we have many other things that we like to do, and we decided to put everything that we like into the show,” recalls Berman.

“After many, many auditions, we found seven other people for the cast, and without any budget or a production team, we started to work in a basement in Tel Aviv.”

Nuphar adds: “We were creating the show, doing many improvisations and experimenting with all the different ideas we had until we were happy with what we had. In the end, it was a mix of music, rhythm, humour, dance and a lot of energy.”

Even though the concept was still in its early stages, well-known Israeli producer Roy Ofer got a 20-minute peek of the group rehearsing, and quickly realised they were onto something.

“I took them to perform in one of the TV projects I was working on, and soon after found myself leaving all the other projects I was doing and joined the group,” reminisces Ofer, who soon started doing Mayumana’s marketing and production. “I found the capital needed, and six months later we premiered Mayumana for the first time.”

Over the years, the group has taken the show around the globe, becoming one of Israel’s most recognised exports. It has also set up a foundation promoting social and educational projects for the economically disadvantaged.

Some of Melbourne’s youth will get the chance to see that side of the Mayumana’s outreach work. As part of its visit, the group will teach an educational workshop to secondary students on Friday, July 24. Students will learn and perform a segment of the troupe’s routine.

As for Mayumana’s future, plans are in the works.

“We are working on several new creations for 2010, among others a special show for kids,” says Nuphar.

“We are also investing a lot of energy in the development of the foundation ‚Ķ and aiming to promote and rehabilitate them.”

In the meantime, they’re planning to enjoy their time in Australia. “We’re very excited. We have always wanted to [come],” says Berman. “It looks like people are very open-minded here, and they like to have fun and enjoy themselves. So we think that it would not be difficult for them to connect with the show.”

Mayumana will perform at the Arts Centre, State Theatre, from July 22-25. Bookings: theartscentre.com.au