Al-Atlal

"Give me my freedom, release my hands/ I gave (everything) and left nothing behind/ Oh, your chains have bloodied my wrists/ Why would I leave them and what is left for me in you?"- Ibrahim Nagi, Al-Atlal.

Orly Portal’s latest work is based on the voice of Umm Kulthum in the iconic song Al-Atlal (“The Ruins”) by Egyptian poet Ibrahim Nagi, sung in the piece in a contemporary Hebrew translation.

The song, originally about the death of romantic love between a man and a woman, is reimagined as a story of a world in collapse — a relationship between a person and their land, their place, their people. The work emerges from ruins, where seeds of beauty sprout among fragments of war. It is a lament in motion, mourning the loss of life and faith. Hebrew and Arabic are interwoven throughout. Language, voice, and music dissolve into movement, culminating in tarab — ecstatic emotional transcendence. The dancers sigh, moan, and cry out, their voices seeking to mend the great wound between two nations.

"This is a politically charged work, carrying a message of reconciliation. Its very fabric embodies layered, complex identities — a tangible vision of multiculturalism that offers hope for this troubled land, through dance that elevates both body and soul. The dancers perform with breathtaking virtuosity."

— Ran Brown, Haaretz