When Eugenia de los Reyes, Israel Galván's mother, gave its title to this performance, the dancer's long work had come to an end. Where was its beginning: reading the biblical text, approaching it in such distinct ways (from Los zapatos rojos to Arena Israel Galván has always projected on his shows the shadow of these revelations), by studying the most extreme dances (from tarantella to butoh, and of course, flamenco). This is not to represent the complete book of Revelation, nor to show in extenso all the revelations therein. It's about reading the text, reading it as only the body of a dancer can do, embodying the verses, sentences.

Source : Programme de salle de la Maison de la Danse de Lyon 2010

Israel Galván is the son of dancers José  Galván and Eugenia de los Reyes.  He was born in Seville, Spain, where  he grew up in an atmosphere of tablaos, flamenco schools and  festivities.

His daring original works, arising from supreme mastery of the  choreographic tradition of flamenco and heartfelt emotion, have earned  him an international reputation.  Each new one features yet another form  of audacity, showing his refusal to accept conventions that should be  his.

Well before his Goya-like Fiesta (presented in the Cour  d’Honneur at the 2017 Festival d’Avignon), Israel Galván’s performances  were already assertive, starting with the title, stating a clear change,  far from any standard path:  Mira! / Los Zapatos Rojos! (1998), La Metamorfosis (2000), Arena (2004), La Edad de Oro (2005), El Final de este estado de cosas (2009), La Curva (2010), Lo Real/Le Réel/The Real  (2012).  Whether performing solo or as a duo, or leading a motley  group, Israel Galván has always endeavored to work on both the end of a  given moment and whatever is to follow;  perhaps it is the master of  flamenco compás always able to pick up on the final beat.  In Torobaka  (2015) we saw him dueling with Akram Khan in a performance built on  opposite and complementary elements, e.g. Andalusia for the running of  the bulls, and India the land of the sacred cow.  In Solo he  traveled the world, stripped to the bare essentials, with no  accompaniment other than the sounds of a hall or a city, and the  presence of the audience.

Then there was FLA.CO.MEN (2013), a wild and wonderful topsy-turvy  venture, exulting in and sharing folly, for audiences to enjoy his  irrepressible virtuosity and also to enjoy sitting in the dark listening  to the neighbors’ radio.  Works followed, including La Fiesta:   no solitude, no clan, no beginning, no end.  The performances may be  unsettling or exhilarating, being both thrilling and austere, provoking  without being provocative, but undermining so many things.  Here we are  on shifting ground, wondering where we have set foot.  In 2018, after  the freedom of La Fiesta, and the spirited cats and gypsies of Cirque Romanès (2018), came his AI doppelganger (Israel & Israel,  2019).  Israel Galván was there when least expected, pursuing his path,  adding new adventures in trio format and, for the first time, following  written music:  El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla (2019), and The Rite of Spring  by Stravinsky (2019), played by Sylvie Courvoisier and Cory Smythe.   Yet this does not mean it was all planned in advance;  it is the art of  finding what has not been before, with due respect for the text.  Such  is his latest flight of the imagination.

Israel Galván is one of six choreographers whose portraits were  presented by Thierry Demaizières and Alban Teurlai for the first Netflix  documentary series on the world of dance, first broadcast on November  23, 2020.

Many prizes and distinctions have paid formal tribute to his work,  including Spain’s National Dance Award, the New York Bessie Performance  Award, a UK National Dance Award with a special award for exceptional  artistry, and in 2016, he was named “Officier” in the Ordre des Arts et  des Lettres in France.

Israel Galván is a Théâtre de la Ville “Associate Artist.

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon