Thirty-nine years after French high-wire artist Philippe Petit walked across Jerusalem's Hinnom Valley, aerial performers recreated the feat at twilight on Tuesday as the opening event of the 65th Israel Festival.
Four high-line artists traversed cables suspended above the Hinnom Valley on the seam between east and west Jerusalem in a performance titled "Held By a String." The event included live music from the Jerusalem East and West Orchestra and the Jerusalem Youth Choir, combining aerial artistry with themes of dialogue, resilience and shared space. Israeli high-wire artist Yonatan Tabachnik was among the performers.
The free public event marked the official opening of this year's festival, which runs from July 28 through Aug. 20 in Jerusalem, the Western Negev and the Upper Galilee.
Petit's 1987 crossing above the Hinnom Valley became one of the defining images of that year's Israel Festival. The internationally renowned performer is best known for his 1974 unauthorized walk between New York's Twin Towers, where he crossed the cable eight times over 45 minutes, dancing, kneeling and lying on the wire more than 1,300 feet above the streets. His career spanning more than five decades also includes crossings between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and Sydney Harbor Bridge in 1973. His philosophy was expressed in a TED Talk remark that "life should be lived on the edge."
Festival organizers framed the production as addressing contemporary imbalance. "In a world that has gone slightly off-balance, at a point where we have nearly lost our equilibrium, we return to seeking a foothold," The festival said in a statement. The performance invited audiences to witness "danger and beauty, tenacity and strength," Creating what organizers called "a shared space for dialogue - between East and West, between voices, communities and human beings."
Israel Festival CEO Uri Vaknin said the event reflected the festival's determination to bring people together. "The Israel Festival is first and foremost a live meeting between artists, creators and audiences," He said. "Its very existence cannot be taken for granted today. Continuing to create and gather is itself an expression of our commitment to one another."