Haddasah

Haddasah, digital video, 10:00 min.
By: Sigal Bergman
With: Or Avishay

hadassah-vimeo from sigal bergman on Vimeo.

Haddasah, a video by Sigal Bergman, is a reflection on movement, illness, compassion and family ties, in the form of a dancer’s inverted walk through Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital where Sigal’s mother underwent deep brain surgery to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The path that performer Or Avishay takes through the Hospital’s wards and corridors recreates the physical path Sigal took while assisting her mother’s recovery. Sigal uses Avishay’s obstructed amble as a means to explore the physical experience of her mother’s hospitalization, as well as the power of movement and mindful engagement to bring about change.

Hadassah is one of a series of videos that Sigal created in which Or walks backwards along paths with various contexts, both personal and cultural. The first video in this series, Backtrack, played in reverse, follows Or on a walk “out of the ocean”, through the busy streets of Tel Aviv and culminating in Rabin Sqaure, where Israel’s Independence Day festivities are underway. Backtrack first was shown as part of a group exhibit in Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam, in 2014.

Sigal Bergman is a dancer, choreographer and Alexander Technique teacher, who lives in Tel Aviv. She is a participating artist in the Störung project.