Christian Spuck (CS) What does a new beginning mean to you? Is it something positive or is it rather something frightening?
Sharon Eyal (SE) Honestly, there is no new beginning because it's all about the ending. A beginning is actually the end of something. So for me, it’s all one thing!
CS Which role does the city play in which you live or work in? How about Berlin?
SE It has a lot to do with emotion and energy and timing. Also, it's all connected to the moment. I love Berlin, I had some amazing experiences here with the Staatsballett, and also our own company [L-E-V Company] performing at Kraftwerk Mitte. There is something very open about this city. I'd describe Berlin as colourful with a black and white feel.
CS That’s a beautiful image. When you create, where do you take your inspiration from? Do you create a concept first?
SE I think I cannot create «something». It’s rather that I have different forces in my body and my heart so that I have to create. I have to dance, and I have to deliver something from inside of me. Inspiration is not something I can point at. It's all about experience and moments and people, my family, and my love, all these moments and more, the sky or the night. Inspiration is in the air, you just need to breathe it.
CS Is it easy to breathe it or is it also difficult sometimes?
SE It's never easy for me. Nothing is easy. I cannot relate so much to easiness. But I also don't want to say it’s hard. Breathing contains a lot of colours. It's, again, everything. It's very minimalist in a very maximum way.
CS How important are your artistic collaborators like your dancers, composers and costume designers?
SE I believe in collaboration, and I really believe in the people around me. They are another source of inspiration: music, costumes, lights, dancers and, of course, my husband [Gai Behar], who I'm working together with. For me, it's all about the people. It can truly change something within the piece. It's a lot about chemistry. It's a lot about wishing for something and looking at the same star together. There is something bigger that everybody wants to reach. So, the people are extremely important.
CS Isn't that a beautiful moment when you sense that all somehow merge into one unit?
SE It's amazing. And it's very special when it happens.
CS Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes you have to fight the fear so much at work until you get there. But when it suddenly happens, it's just worth all the suffering.
SE Magic.
CS Yes, magic! That's the right word. When you start a new work or a new creation, are you afraid of the white canvas, when you have to make the first decision? Sometimes I'm afraid of that.
SE I don't start with a white canvas, I continue. So for me, it's never a starting point, it’s a process. I always will be afraid, and I will always have emotions. But I think this also gives me a lot of energy. Maybe ‘afraid’ is not exactly the right word. Maybe I have ‘anxiety’ or I feel uncomfortable with myself. But at the same time, it's the only way I can start.
CS So, when you start a new creation, do you re-visit and simultaneously continue the work you did before? Or do you relate to your style in general by maybe reflecting it?
SE No, I don't relate to anything, and it can be completely the opposite, too. It’s more like remembering a taste in your mouth or a face, something you want to keep. It’s not that I necessarily refer to my last creation or my style. It's more like a signature, something that already exists.
CS Instead of being a choreographer, what would you have liked to become instead? What could be fulfilling in the same way for you?
SE It's very strange for me to think about something else because this is me. There is creation and dancing and feeling; all this is me. Choreography will always be the art in which I will express myself. I really love what I'm doing.
CS Do you remember the moment you knew, «I must dance»? Was there an initial spark when dance suddenly said, «I want Sharon Eyal»?
SE I was four years old when I started, I created for the first time when I was thirteen. I have been dancing all my life, but I don't know exactly when dance chose me. I think I was just there.
CS You're very aware of what's happening in the world at the moment. It's really in a very desolate state, and it's full of crisis.Does this affect your work?
SE I'm living this life, and I'm just sad that all this happens. It's hard for me. But I hope that, nonetheless, you can connect with people. I want to share what I know. I think, if more art will be created, there will be more love, more peace and happiness.
CS I really like to think back on our meeting in Paris. Somehow it was very special to me. There was a moment I cannot forget. We were sitting outside talking, and then the sun came out. Then you said, «Let's go inside, please. I'm a moon girl, I cannot bear the sun.» That is very poetic. Instinctively, I learned a lot about who you are. But what is the deal with the moon girl?
SE I think I'm just more moon than sun. The moon is so strong; I relate to the moon. I cannot really be in the sun. I have sensitive skin. I like darkness because I feel better in the dark.
CS Again, you will do a creation with the Staatsballett Berlin. It's your third time working with the company. What do you like about the Staatsballett?
SE Everything. I love the dancers. I love the management. I love to be there. And also, I really love to come back to places where the dancers have already internalised my language. Usually, this takes time. I think the dancers in Berlin find something in me. I love the technique of classical dancers. My work needs that, this crazy technique and this even crazier professional feeling, this total dedication. All this makes the work even more physical and more extreme. I love working here; I have always loved it. I think it will be amazing!
CS So, if you would do two creations at the same time, let’s say one in Paris and one in Berlin, would they look similar or completely different?
SE Maybe they would look similar but feel very, very different. My thesis is, you can feel it's me, but still there are different human bodies, human souls on stage. You can feel it's me, like a stamp.
CS I have one last question. You answered it already, but maybe you can find a short answer. How personal is your choreographic work?
SE I think my choreographic work is nothing but personal. There is no difference between me and my work.
CS It's about you, actually.
SE It's about me, but it also isn't. It comes from inside of me, but the moment a company is involved, it's not me anymore. It comes from my own personal feelings, but it's also universal. I think when you connect to your own emotions, and you create something from within, people connect with it because we are all one and the same.
CS Thank you very much, Sharon.
Quoted from the 23/24 season brochure.
