A new piece (of my heart)

Olivia Court Mesa

 A New Piece (of My Heart) explores resilience and emotional memory through a shared physical language. Fragments of body, matter, and feeling are gathered into a space where care and strength coexist. Blurring the lines between intimacy and collectivity, the work reveals that what is broken can still pulse with connection — that every heartbeat carries both personal and collective histories.

Concept & Choreography: Olivia Court Mesa

Dancers / Co-creators: Ofir Itach, Uri Dicker, Nitzan Ben Shem, Yuval Finkelstein, Zsuzsanna Pretzner / Maayan Horesh

Sound Design: Roey Hason Rehearsal

Director: Yochai Ginton Lighting Design: Yan Ard

Photography: Efrat Mazor

Olivia’s choreographic language combines physical intensity and intricate partnering with emotional precision, exploring the tension between vulnerability and resilience. Based in Israel since 2010, her work is shaped by a life lived between Chile, Germany, and Israel. Her works have been presented internationally at festivals including Tanec Praha, Fuori Programma, Gdańsk Dance Festival, and Santiago OFF. She has also created commissioned works for companies such as Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. A recipient of multiple awards, she was named Best Solo Performer by Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sports (2017), received Best Performance for I Carry, You Hold (2023), and won four prizes at the RIDCC in Rotterdam, including the XL Production Award (2022). Since 2012, she has collaborated with Yochai Ginton, developing The Common Body — a practice of physical real-time communication taught internationally. Olivia is the Cultural Director of CCHIL and a mother of three.