Ballet Basel, Switzerland

To mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Switzerland, Israel will host the dance work Tuvia, a creation by choreographer Richard Warlock that premiered in November 2015 at the Basel Theater and became an immediate success.

Tuvia is forced to watch his family fall apart and his home is taken from him, yet he does not lose his faith in God and his unbridled sense of humor.

The story, which gained great popularity following the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” is a monument to the lost world of the Jewish town. No embellished idyll or nostalgic romanticism masks its view of the bitter reality that was the lot of Eastern European Jews and the catastrophe that began to loom on the horizon at the beginning of the 20th century: revolutions, pogroms, and expulsion.

Richard Warlock conveys the touching story of Sholem Aleichem’s hero from classic Yiddish fiction and retells it through dance.

Joy, suffering, and the pain of love all come to light, as does the theme of tradition, beliefs, rituals, and customs that at that time and place repeatedly provoked people to rebel against stifling conventions.

Verloc’s modern dance style merges with the moving and joyful music of Olivier Troin, who composed a work for full orchestra especially for the Ballet Tuvia.

Troan’s fascinating, open-style music combines Jewish musical traditions and Eastern European styles with jazz improvisations and the special immersion of the singer’s quintet “Kol Simcha”, Switzerland.

This, combined with the ballet Tuvia, is a promise of virtuoso turbulence, abundant pleasure, and moments of surprising beauty.

Choreographer: Richard Warlock

Music: Olivier Troin

Music: “Kol Simcha” Quintet