Leviah

a contemporary autobiographical dance performance

"My very tight uniform has become a symbol; a symbol of lost dreams and sexual confusion." Leviah is visual memoir about vulnerability, power and powerlessness. Choreographer Reut Shemesh shares a collection of memories from her service in the Israeli military, and brings into awareness a phenomenon that has not often been spoken about: the emotional difficulties and despair that female soldiers experience in junior positions. Many of them suffer from a loss of control, eating disorders, and endure sexual harassment. The work tests the boundaries between vulnerability and control, the transition from human to mechanic and the collision between present and past. Leviah brings into light the effect of political processes on the individual's psyche.

In 2016, Leviah won the Cologne Dance and Theatre Award and the audience prize at the contemporary dance festival 638 KiloTanz in Essen.

Choreography, text: Reut Shemesh
Performed, created by: Hella Immler, Reut Shemesh
Music: Simon Bauer
Light technian: Phillip Zander
Light design, video, graphic design: Ronni Shendar
Costumes: Dario Mendez Acosta
Dramaturgy: Daniel Rademacher
Production manager: Sabina Stücker
Produced by: Reut Shemesh

"Maybe I am just a messenger of social power, discovering, framing, reacting to those voices around and in me, representing its effect on individual bodies."

Reut Shemesh is a choreographer working on the edge of visual art and poetry. In 2010, she graduated from the choreography department at ArtEZ dance academy (NL). Since then, she has been working as a freelance choreographer, based in Cologne (DE). For the last three years, she attended the postgraduate program at the Academy for Media Arts in Cologne. Alongside her studies and creative work, she teaches choreography at several institutes, such as Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Media and Cultural Studies.