HANNA Victoria (Israel)

Victoria HANNA (Israel)

 

Defying definition, the inspired work of Victoria Hanna depicts her ongoing experimentation with the vocal and conceptual boundaries of language. This vocal artist enacts in her work a unique presentation of sacred Hebrew texts, prayers and spirituals, in an entirely modern context, integrating theatre, music, spoken word and video.

Victoria Hanna was born into a very spiritual, religious community in Jerusalem, in which the language and elocution of prayer were valued, above all other arts. Hanna draws on this rich verbal heritage in her work, weaving the ancient and the contemporary into a performance that ‘is devout and austere, and unveils an insightful artistic virtuoso who takes your breath away’ (Ha’ir Tel-Aviv). Despite an impediment that afflicted her speech from a young age, Hanna was always able to expresses her self flawlessly in song and dramatic performances. Her art became her most powerful vehicles for expression.

Victoria Hanna Ancient Hebrew Rap, combine hip-hop dance music with ancient Hebrew texts. Much of the inspiration for the current work comes from Jerusalem itself, where the overlapping of past and present, ancient and modern are at its very essence.

Specifically, the Hebrew texts that Hanna will include in the work deal with language and letters as a creative force. Examples of such texts are the Book of Creation (attributed to Abraham) and the writings of the Rabbi Abraham Aboulafia. The work will set these texts against a modern backdrop; their organic juxtaposition emerging from structures and codes inherent in the text that are reminiscent of the modern, hi-tech world. Her work also integrates translations and original texts in languages such as English, Persian, Czech, Arabic and Gibberish.

A graduate of The Nisan Nativ Acting Studio, Hanna has benefited from the mentoring of esteemed artists such as Elizabeth Swedos and Yaacov Agami. She has performed internationally since the age of 20. Hanna has performed at the premier venues in Israel, including the main role in Dubbyk at the Ha’bima National Theater and the Israel Festival; in New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Lamama, Tonic and Joe's Pub Public Theater; and she opened the New Delhi Sacred Music Festival 2003 in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She has been featured at music and film festivals in Mumbai, Berlin, Sao Paolo, Boston, Ukraine, Mongolia, Japan, Poland, Mexico, and Mongolia.

CZ / EN