International Destinations

46th Israel Festival serves up multicultural banquet

(Special) – A snapshot of this year's 46th annual Israel Festival of music and performing arts reveals a multicultural banquet of dance, opera, classical, contemporary, jazz and world music and theatre in Jerusalem, Holon, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.

During the festival, May 24 to June 10, Israeli actors, dancers and musicians will be joined by artists from Australia, Switzerland, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Germany, Austria, France, England, Holland, Russia and Spain. The tone is cultural harmony and the purpose is pure pleasure.

The opening performance on May 25 in Jerusalem will feature 70 "flying" acrobats and dancers in the folkloric Circus of Wan from China.

Other highlights include:

• Tendo, a seamless blend of Western and traditional African tribal dance, the creative result of collaboration between a Dutch choreographer and dancers from Burkina Faso in Africa.

• Two choreographers, one Tunisian and one French, will present a dance interpretation of sexual issues in Moslem culture via their Kan International Choreography Centre.

• A cutting edge audio-visual production called Music will be shown in Sherover Theater in Jerusalem.

• A Swiss theatre group will introduce an artistic new language in The Chirigaki a performance with text by Gertrude Stein and music by the Beach Boys performed by Japanese, Swedish and Canadian actresses, dancers, and singers.

• A comedic tale of horror about an elderly vampire and his son is told by Dutchman Neville Tratner's eight life-sized puppets in an adult-oriented show.

• The Austrian choir will perform together with the Jerusalem Symphony in a concert dedicated to Mozart's three great liturgical works: the Requiem, the Mass in D Minor and the Coronation Mass.

• The spotlight on Israeli jazz, world music and rock will highlight the music of three saxophone players: Albert Bagar's modern jazz; Daniel Zamir's "Jewish" jazz; and Eli Banaki and Yair Dallal's unique Middle Eastern jazz.

For further festival details and specific information, please visit www.israel-festival.org.il. To learn more about visiting Israel, visit www.goisrael.com.