Golden 8 Gate

Amid Jerusalem’s ancient stones and the cracks of time stands the Gate of Mercy — sealed for centuries, waiting in stillness. In Golden 8 Gate, Elad Schechter offers a contemporary ritual inspired by the belief in the gate’s future opening and the hope for a golden age that follows. The piece moves between sacred and profane, myth and body, local and universal, weaving a choreographic prayer born from Jerusalem’s layered reality.

Together with c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group, Schechter draws a poetic collage on movement phrases cited from dozens of Jerusalemite choreographers, in search of movement that can capture the spirituality of Jerusalem. Accompanied by sound samples gathered from the city, this ceremonial piece is not just a dance but a gesture of longing — a vision rising from a fractured city, calling gently for compassion, reconciliation, and healing. Golden 8 Gate imagines the moment when inner and outer gates might open, offering a fleeting glimpse into a future shaped by grace, tenderness, and golden shared light.