Diamonds – JISDF 2026 Closing Gala

Thursday 17.9 | Hansen House, Jerusalem

Gates Open | 19:30
Performance Begins | 20:30

Diamonds is a new stage collaboration between singer songwriter Aya Korem and choreographer Miriam Engel, together with JISDF artists from around the world and a live musical ensemble. Korem’s songs unfold through movement and visual imagery in a gala concert of dance and music, created as one continuous narrative.

In Diamonds, Miriam Engel creates a new stage interpretation of Aya Korem’s musical world in collaboration with the festival’s international artists. Korem’s work embodies a distinctly Israeli voice, expressed through both her original songs and the arrangements and translations through which she gives existing texts and music new life and renewed relevance. Her body of work brings together original songwriting and composition, arrangements, and artistic collaborations, engaging in dialogue with major creators including Nathan Alterman and Leonard Cohen. Dance encounters these songs through the cultural background, artistic language and perspective of each performer, while the meeting between Korem’s Israeli voice and the diverse viewpoints of the festival’s artists evolves into a vibrant, virtuosic and large scale stage work.

The Closing Gala has become one of the festival’s defining traditions and a unique artistic signature of JISDF. Each year, Miriam Engel invites a leading Israeli musician to create a new original production together with the festival’s artists. This year’s collaboration with Aya Korem brings to the stage an evening of music, dance and storytelling, created exclusively for the festival and for audiences who share a passion for both music and dance.