Events

Witty, funny, spectacular, a blend of dance, text, object theater, and above all, fun, play and lots of beauty.

"Western" art has been flirting for centuries with the exotic image of Spain. Hillel Kogan, a choreographer and dancer in the contemporary dance scene, visits the world of flamenco dance and music as a tourist, and holds a poignant dialog with a flamenco dancer and choreographer - Michal Natan - Around questions of national identity and artistic identity: what is Spanish and what is Israeli, what is Europeanness, what is folklore and what is high art. All this, while casting doubt on the concept of identity itself: in the spirit of queer theory that holds that identity is not an essence but rather a show, Kogan seeks to show Spanishness.

The works of Hillel Kogan (‘Appropriation’, Batsheva) combine dance, text and music in a multi-layered visual language moving between implicit and explicit criticism of the world of art, popular culture and contemporary society. Saturated with sarcastic, reflexive humor, the works expose dance as a political and social agent, mostly a critical observation of the ideologies hidden under the cloak of aesthetics and entertainment, of the artist's craft, and of the complex power relations between the artist and audience.

Choreography: Hillel Kogan, Dancers: Michal Natan and Hillel Kogan, Dramaturgy: Yael Venezia, Lighting Design: Nadav Barnea, Art Director: Leticia Bollo 
 

Launge Talk  

After the show, a dialog with the artists at Sela Bar 

Hillel Kogan has performed in dance troupes in Israel, Portugal and Switzerland; he has choreographed for groups in France, Portugal and Austria, and in Israel for the Batsheva Ensemble, and managed the Curtain Up festival in 2015-2016. His award-winning works are presented at festivals and on stages in Israel and around the world.

Michal Natan, the artistic and choreographic director of the Israeli flamenco group Compas.

To mark the Sieff Institute’s 90th anniversary, join us in the screening of this fascinating film, which follows the preparations for the launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in late 2021. The ambitious and expensive mission of the telescope’s design, construction, launch and operation, all of which took 25 years, cost approximately 10 billion dollars and employed ten thousand employees, went ahead successfully and without any mishaps.  Moments before the launch, Dr. Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA and the main initiator of this colossal project, prepared for the worst. And on his way to what could have been the bottom, from the room where he wrote the defeat speech, to the control room where the air becomes thicker and heavier with tension, to the test facilities and the launch site, he took Shai Gal ‒ journalist and Doco director ‒ with him, who made a movie out of it all.

Greetings and opening remarks before the screening by the President of the Weizmann Institute of Science - Professor Alon Chen. 

Stage Talk Following the screening, a conversation with Shai Gal, the director of the film, and with Professor Eli Waxman – an astrophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Principal Investigator of the ULTRASAT mission and one of the fathers of the first Israeli space telescope, planned for launch in 2025 – about the human element, decision making and responsibility, and managing monumental, ground-breaking scientific projects.

USA 2023 | 64 minutes | English, Hebrew subtitles
 

Entry is free (with advance booking) 
 

Set against a backdrop of breathtaking landscapes and enchanting lakes, 18-year-old Elliott lives on the family farm in picturesque Ontario, Canada and is mostly preoccupied with the moment she leaves home and finally begins her adult life. At her birthday party, during her first experience with hallucinogenic mushrooms, she finds herself face to face with her 39-year-old self, who comes from the future with advice and warnings. Captivating, original, and witty comedy, with a smart, fast-paced script, about the future and growing up, about the decisions we must make and inevitable mistakes. 
Screened at the Sundance Film Festival, it became one of the festival’s favorite and most-talked-about films. 

Director: Megan Park, Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Maisy Stella

USA, 2024 | 88 minutes | English, Hebrew subtitles