“Archive is less of a direct political critique of the conflict in Gaza, and more of a call for conversation, engagement, and compassion”. Danscussion.com
“As anthropological as it is polemical, Archive takes dissent to a choreographic level that is neither abstract nor pure imitation but part of what Zaides calls his search for the real choreography: is it what we see in the theatre or is it manifest outside? Archive blurs the distinction between the two and in doing so makes a powerful, devastating statement”. writingabaoutdance.com
“Yes, the work is ostensibly about the political moment in the Middle East; but it also reflects incisively on the ways in which each one of us has the capacity and the propensity to dispense with civility and humanity, and in an instant can devolve into physical, emotional and emotional repression.” Thedancecurrent.com
Archive is a solo dance piece by the oppositional Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides. The piece is based upon genuine recordings made by Palestinian inhabitants with hand held cameras. The cameras were provided by the B´Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) in order to document to the people of Israel and the world in general, how human rights violations inflicted by Israeli soldiers affects the Palestinian inhabitants. The dancer on stage resembles a living shadow as he’s mirroring the violent acts of the soldiers on screen.