Idan Cohen, Ne.Sans & the Yes Manifesto by Rachel Silver Maddock Idan Cohen’s work, which brings together dance, music, dramatic costumes and makeup has an enticingly theatrical quality. In Vancouver, a city where the current of postmodernism in dance runs strong (a minimalistic, “dance first, dance only” approach), Cohen’s work feels indulgent, like a forbidden fruit. Cohen’s company, founded in 2017, reimagines opera, seeking to reconnect the artistic disciplines found within opera with contemporary dance. At the meeting point of many elements, Cohen tries to give each part its own agency in performance. The Vancouver-based Israeli choreographer comes from a multidisciplinary background. His early life was characterized by the study and performance of classical piano, visual arts, and theatre. But Cohen says he was always more interested in the creative process than performing. At nineteen (“quite late”, he says), he began training in dance, and went on to work with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company for six seasons. In his time at KCDC, he was given opportunities to develop his choreographic voice, creating and touring his first works on
Idan Cohen © Lior Noyman
the company. In 2005, Cohen left to start the Idan Cohen Dance Company. He spent the next decade making his own work, winning a number of European choreographic awards. As a well-rounded appreciator and practitioner of the arts, Cohen was always drawn to opera. But he says he was dissatisfied with the quality of dance in the productions, feeling the choreography was often outdated. After directing his first opera production in 2016, he relocated to Vancouver and founded Ne.Sans with the goal of deepening the connection between dance and opera.
Dance Central Spring 2021
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