Pardes was born at home. It is a work of art in which the body connects to its inner spiritual layers - to the insides of each human being/dancer, while being interwoven with a common tapestry.
Pardes the Hebrew word for 'orchard'- originates from ancient Persian and means a garden of trees. The word has also penetrated to other languages - 'Paradise'.
In Jewish mysticism, Pardes represents the first initials of four Hebrew words which refer to interpretative approaches of religious texts: Pshat (literal meaning); Remez (hinted meaning); Drash (interpretive meaning) and Sod (secret meaning).
The music for Pardes was created by international percussion artist Itamar Doari. The soundtrack was interwoven into the process of creating the choreography, was created and recorded in real time in the studio - and granted us a golden opportunity to work with one of the most important and prominent percussion artists in Israel and in the world.
Noa Wertheim, the artistic director and choreographer of the Vertigo Dance Company, was born in the United States in 1965 and grew up in Israel where she first studied dance in Netanya. After three years of military service in the developing town of Yeruham, Wertheim completed her dance studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 1990 and, in 1992, together with Adi Shaal, founded the Vertigo Dance Company, which is based in Jerusalem and in the Vertigo Eco Art Village in the Ella Valley where she lives with Shaal and their three sons.
Under the artistic direction of Wertheim, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the internationally acclaimed Vertigo Dance Company has begun its third decade with an impressive repertoire of original works choreographed by Wertheim, whose distinct dance language inspires dance students and artists by encouraging interpersonal communication and community involvement.
Beyond her contribution to cultural life in Israel, Wertheim’s unique approach promotes social change by creating an artistic connection with the community and the environment, and this has been evident in the Vertigo Dance Education School, founded in Jerusalem in 1997, in the Vertigo Eco Art Village, founded in Kibbutz Netiv Halamed-Heh in 2007, and in The Power of Balance, a dance program for inclusion of the disabled.
AWARDS AND MILESTONES
2018 Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance – Honorary Fellow Award.
2017 Genesis Prize (Itzhak Perlman), for The Power of Balance.
2016 Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport – official recognition of Vertigo as a large dance company.
2015 Il Teatro Nudo de Teresa Pomodoro International Dance Competition, Milan, Italy – Special Mention, for Birth of the Phoenix.
2014 Weizmann Institute of Science, performance collaboration at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, USA.
2013 Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport – Outstanding Dance Company Performance Award, for Vertigo 20.
2012 Ruderman Prize, for The Power of Balance, a program for inclusion of people with disabilities.
2011 TEDGLOBAL, Edinburgh, Scotland.
2010 TEDx Tel Aviv – speaker.
2009 Israel Ministry of Culture – Dance Award.
2008 Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport – Outstanding Dance Performance Award, for White Noise.
2006 Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts.
2005 Culture Minister’s Outstanding Dance Ensemble Award.
2003 Landau Prize for the Performing Arts.
2000 Alternative Theater Festival, Budapest, Hungary – Best Performers Award, for The Gas Heart.
1999 Culture Minister’s Outstanding Dance Ensemble Award.
1998 Education and Culture Minister’s Award for Young Choreographers.
1994 Groningen International Choreography Competition – Audience Choice Award.
1993 Shades of Dance Choreography Competition, Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel – First Prize, for Contact Lenses.
1992 British Council Dance Prize – Scholarship for The Place, London.
ORIGINAL WORKS
2019 Leela
2018 Vertigo & the Revolution Orchestra – White Noise
2017 One, One & One
2016 Yama
2015 Vertigo Global
2014 Reshimo
2013 Vertigo 20
2011 Null
2010 Mana
2008 White Noise
2005 Vertigo and the Diamonds
2004 Birth of the Phoenix
2002 Sylvia
