A month or two ago, I stumbled across this intriguing YouTube clip of a dance designed by an Israeli choreographer, inspired by her memories of growing up on a kibbutz. It’s called “Five Beds / Children of the Dream”—an allusion to Bruno Bettelheim’s famous (some might say “infamous”) book about communal child-raising in the kibbutz system.
The dissonant music and frenetic motions of the dancers suggest that these aren’t exactly happy memories, however. And in a Jewish context, the baggy grey-and-white striped pyjamas carry far more ominous overtones. But that’s modern dance for you…