MAIM

“One does not just watch a dance by Zvi Gotheiner. One enters a world with its own internal logic, a sensual, organic world of movement, language, and images where one is pulled along by currents unseen and inevitable.” (Dance Magazine)
MAIM sets out to raise awareness to issues related to the global diminishing water resources due to global warming.

Israeli Zvi Gotheiner grew up in Kibbutz Messilot on the slopes of Mount Gilboa, where King David cursed the land with no rain or dew in his biblical mourning elegy to his beloved Jonathan. Droughts, water shortage and the need for water conservation were powerful tensions in Gotheiner’s early years, epitomized by the government’s slogan “Every Drop Counts.” Later, Gotheiner would learn the significant role water, or lack thereof, played into the war politics of the region.

This year 4 million people in Cape Town, South Africa will stand in line surrounded by armed guards to collect drinking water. And in Mexico City, many of the 21 million residents will only have running water part of the day… and these are only 2 examples for a growing global trend of water shortage. To bring awareness to such man-made devastation, Gotheiner will anchor his artistic investigation to his personal experience.

ZviDance initiated MAIM’s creative process during a 3-week residency (supported by NYSCA’s Long-Term Residency Grant) in Catskill, NY, hosted and commissioned by Lumberyard, January 2019.