Fresco Dance Project | March 18-20, 2027

Why Things Go Wrong

World Premiere November 24, 2025, at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel

Artistic Director Yoram Karmi

Choreography by Sylva Šafková

Music by Golden Hive Studio & Amak Golden

Costume Design by Tal Markovitz

Lighting Design by Uri Rubinstein

This socially and politically charged work, full of nuance and irony, traces the underlying reasons why so many things go wrong in our daily lives as individuals, and even more so as members of society facing its many challenges.

Fresco Dance Company's Why Things Go Wrong is equal parts cutting-edge contemporary dance and social commentary. The sound score for Why Things Go Wrong alternates between dramatic, modern classical music and recorded text. The wry, witty text, inspired by the New York Times bestseller 'Aholes: A Theory', describes the many ways in which bad actors exert their will on other people, and the impact that has on society at large. The dancers reflect the themes within the voice-overs within vignettes where they push, grab, and menace each other. In other moments, the dancers parody the stereotype of the ahole - donning sunglasses, strutting with pride, and dancing like no one is watching. The costuming for Why Things Go Wrong, two-piece suits, evokes the positions of power occupied by bad actors. The beautiful, warm lighting surrounding the dancers is highlighted as it reflects off of the scenography of the work: gold confetti pieces and large mirrors that hang above the dancers. As in all works by Fresco Dance Company, the dancers show off an awe-inspiring variety of lifts, rolls, spins, and floorwork.

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Yoram Karmi founded The Fresco Dance Company in 2002, first taking the stage as an independent dance group. A leading influence in Israel’s contemporary dance world, Fresco Dance Company has a mission of accessibility for diverse audiences and students. They aim to augment the dialogue of Israeli culture locally and internationally. In addition to providing a permanent home for its artistic endeavors, Fresco Dance Company strengthens the cultural landscape of northern Tel Aviv, offering a space where innovation, performance, and education intersect. Fresco Dance Company also fosters collaboration between artists and marginalized communities, providing cultural and educational opportunities, building bridges across society, and inspiring creativity and learning in the next generation. The company tours abroad, bringing an original and high-quality Israeli dance to international audiences. So far, the company traveled to China, Taiwan, Korea, Poland, Romania, Italy and Sicily.

Collaboration is an important element to Fresco Dance Company, working with Czech choreographer Sylva Šafková to present Why Things Go Wrong — a socially charged, sharply observed new work. Šafková began with a simple premise: that most of what goes wrong in our lives and our societies can be traced to one of three causes — bad luck, poor judgment, or scoundrels. Her choreography pays respect to each of these by shifting between movements that are, in turn, combative, sorrowful, and ironic. Šafková locates the personal inside the systemic, finding in individual bodies the full, complicated weight of collective failure — and the stubborn persistence of hope. The show has been nominated as one of the top 24 productions on the Aerowaves platform for 2024 and was also performed in Sweden at SKÅNES DANSTEATER in 2024.

• Smart, provocative contemporary dance with something to say

• Companies like:

  • Lali Ayguadé Company

  • LED

  • Lucy Guerin

  • L-E-V

• Social commentary

• Books that make you laugh and cringe at the same time (A**holes: A Theory, The Confidence Man)

• Sleek aesthetics: sunglasses, mirrors, gold accents

• Cocktails, late‑night conversations, and calling out bad behavior