Dance In Israel » Performances

Batsheva Dance Company’s Mixed Bill: Yasmeen Godder and Sharon Eyal & Gai Bachar

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:46:26 +0000

Video: Batsheva Dance Company in Yasmeen Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act

On first thought, Batsheva Dance Company’s new mixed bill seems an unusual choice of programming. House (titled “Ha’avoda shel hofesh” in Hebrew) by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar is a natural pick, since Eyal has served as the troupe’s house choreographer since 2005. The first half of the evening, however, belongs to someone from decidedly outside of the Batsheva fold: Yasmeen Godder. Godder is not a complete stranger to Batsheva, having created Green Fields on the Ensemble in 2000, but her The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act is the first work by anyone other than Ohad Naharin or Eyal to be performed by Batsheva in several years. Beyond the novelty of a guest choreographer working with the company, the combination of these particular artists initially seems to be an odd coupling. Were I to make a family tree of contemporary dance in Israel, Godder’s branch would be far away from that of Eyal and Bachar. Indeed, aesthetically, these creators occupy nearly opposite ends on the art form’s spectrum.

Yet watching the performance at Suzanne Dellal on January 4, this pairing started to make sense.

For all their stylistic differences, Godder and the team of Eyal and Bachar do have one key trait in common: they are artists who are audacious and provocative, in the best senses of those words. Rather than play it safe, these creators unabashedly delve into the realms of the twisted, the disturbing, and even the grotesque in their repertory. Rarely have I heard anyone deliver a lukewarm review of either Godder’s or Eyal’s work; indeed, it’s practically impossible to not react strongly to their choreography.

Yasmeen Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act. Photograph by Gadi Dagon.

Batsheva’s mixed bill of Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act and Eyal and Bachar’s House may not be an aesthetically cohesive evening. But it’s savvy programming, for each dance has the capacity to leave a significant impact on the audience – and together, these electrifying works outline the range of contemporary dance in Israel today.

Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar’s House. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Batsheva’s new program continues at Suzanne Dellal in Tel Aviv through January 7 and returns from January 18-20. Additional performances are scheduled later in the season; for more details, please visit Batsheva’s website.

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s “Animal Lost”

Deborah Friedes Galili — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:26:40 +0000

Video: Trailer for Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Animal Lost, with the original cast

“It started from the fact that we wanted to have more shows in Israel,” Yossi Berg remarks of the decision to create a second cast for Animal Lost. Berg and his partner, Oded Graf, premiered the work in Copenhagen with an international cast in 2010, and the full-length production has since made a splash with performances at prestigious venues ranging from the American Dance Festival to Montpellier Danse in France. Yet juggling the schedules of the standout cast members, who work as freelance artists throughout Europe, proved a formidable impediment for mounting regular shows in the choreographers’ home country. Recounts Berg, “We would like to keep running the piece on a regular basis in Israel, because it’s quite new and it doesn’t make sense that we are invited all over the world and we are performing all over the world but not here, which is our base. This is how we started the idea of making another cast.”

Now Israeli audiences who have heard the buzz from abroad will get their chance to catch the wildly popular production with locally-based dancers as part of the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s Macholohet (SummerDance) festival on July 29-30. Two of the dancers joining Berg and Graf on the Inbal Hall’s intimate stage are Israelis Ofir Yudilevitch and Ayala Frenkel. Completing Animal Lost’s second cast – and keeping the mix international in flavor – are Olivia Court Mesa and Rosalind Noctor, more recent additions to Tel Aviv’s contemporary dance scene. The new group has a different balance of gender and nationality than the original cast, but ultimately, Berg and Graf believed that these individuals could form the dynamic, cohesive ensemble that drives the dance theater production. “We felt that all these four people have very beautiful energies, and from our experiences, it’s very important to work not only with artists but with people who are very nice and have their unique personalities,” reflects Berg.

Animal Lost by Yossi Berg and Oded Graf. Photo by Christoffer Askman.

While developing Animal Lost with the original ensemble, which continues to perform abroad, Berg recalls, “We dealt a lot with stereotypes and clichés. There’s some truth in this, but also, at the same time, it can be nothing, it can be nonsense. And this gap is interesting.” Restaging the work on the new cast has enabled Berg and Graf to dig further into the subject, to pose questions anew and to discover novel perspectives with this different group of performers. Berg acknowledges that resetting Animal Lost spurred him to search inside himself to find what he wanted to pass on to the dancers, a process that will no doubt enrich his own interpretation of the work.

Audiences returning to the piece may also notice some slight changes, since the co-creators strove to make the dance fit for the local ensemble. Yet the structure has remained the same, and so too has much of the text in which performers proclaim their nationalities, religions, occupations, and hobbies. With some of the declarations based on those made by the original dancers, the tensions between fiction and truth or expectation and reality are heightened, adding an additional layer to this cast’s exploration of cultural stereotypes. Noting that “some things were true and some things were not” in the first cast’s text as well, Berg explains, “We work a lot with this line of how you reach this place that you present it as if it’s true. . . . Some things have the potential of being truth, and these are the places that are important for us to present as reliable, because here we touch the deep place of the subject that we are dealing with.” As the dancers remove their masks on stage this weekend, they will reveal faces that are fresh to Animal Lost, but even in their debut, they are likely to go beneath the surface and probe the production’s theme to its core.

More Information

The new cast of Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Animal Lost will perform at the Suzanne Dellal Centre on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 at 20:30. Tickets are available at 03-5105656.

Related Websites

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf

Contemporary Israeli Dance Week in New York City

Deborah Friedes Galili — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:14:20 +0000

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Heroes. Photo by Tamar Tal.

Contemporary Israeli Dance Week in New York City

by Stacey Menchel Kussell

With world renowned choreographers like Ohad Naharin, Yasmeen Godder, and Inbal Pinto, over sixty registered dance groups and many more emerging artists – Israel has become a powerhouse in the world of modern dance. While Israeli contemporary dance companies have been headlining prominent European dance festivals for years, many Israeli choreographers are still unknown in the United States. New York’s Contemporary Israeli Dance Week, June 8-12th, 2011, is going to change that.

The festival, a five-day event including performances, video presentations, and community classes, profiles nine of Israel’s up-and-coming dance groups – Arkadi Zaides, Idan Cohen, Yossi Berg & Oded Graf, Maya Brinner, Maya Stern & Tomer Sharabi, choreographers based in Israel; and Deganit Shemy, YelleB Dance Ensemble, Netta Yerushalmy, and LeeSaar Company, based in New York City. The dance films featured are by the “D for Dimension – Animative Videodance” project – a collaboration between three leading Israeli professional schools of dance, photography, and video.

The LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club (E.T.C.), a home to New York avant-garde theater since 1961, will fittingly host the performances as part of its LaMama Moves Dance Festival, an annual international dance showcase. Created by the late Ellen Stewart, the LaMaMa E.T.C. is a world renowned cultural organization that seeks to nurture and support performance work by artists of all nations and cultures.

YelleB Dance Ensemble. Photo by Yi-Chun Wu.

“There is really an intense and pervasive energy in Israeli contemporary dance right now,” says Edo Ceder, who is both a producer and a dancer in the YelleB Dance Ensemble. “This series will feature both Israeli choreographers based in New York and in Israel, and will be an opportunity for the U.S. to see our work represented as a community. By exhibiting both emerging and more established artists at a venue like LaMaMa we can show the full range and texture of what is really happening in the field.”

Arkadi Zaides’s Quiet. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

While each artist investigates diverse topics in their choreography, all of the works involved in the series are in some way about pushing past boundaries. Arkadi Zaides’s internationally acclaimed Quiet, a quartet that features two Arab and two Jewish men, will make its U.S. premiere at the festival. The piece explores the concept of communication and delves into the tension of the Arab-Israeli conflict that Zaides feels is “imprinted on the body” of everyone in the region. “There has been such an emotional reaction to the piece,” explains Zaides, “it has opened up so much discussion about the need for dialogue–the need to talk, and to not be in silence, just ignoring our issues. I’m excited to show the piece and open it up to the New York audience.”

Idan Cohen’s My Sweet Little Fur. Photo by Ran Biran.

Idan Cohen, who will present his solo My Sweet Little Fur, is also enthusiastic for this opportunity to connect with the American audience. He feels that his choreography, like many of his peers, is a coping mechanism for the confusing elements of his environment: “There is a lot of commotion in Israel – diverse people with diverse convictions who live in a very confined space. Our dance helps us articulate our identity.”

Maya Brinner’s Red Ladies. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Maya Brinner, whose Red Ladies, will also make its New York premiere, feels that while she is challenged by her surroundings, she is also nurtured by a very supportive artistic community. Before creating her own work, Brinner performed with Noa Dar and Emanuel Gat, and studied at the Jersualem Acadamy of Music and Dance. She recognizes the importance of the excellent training available in Israel, and the great foundation the bigger companies like the Batsheva Dance Company have established for the country. Many of the dancers in the New York festival have trained or danced with Batsheva and studied with its director, Ohad Naharin. Naharin’s influence on Israeli contemporary dance has been profound, and even choreographers with different movement styles have felt his effect.

“I think we all owe a great deal to Ohad for paving the way,” says Maya Brinner who will show her work in the festival. “But, I also think this dance week in New York is an opportunity to see how far we’ve come. There are many companies in Israel now, and new projects are sprouting up all the time. We are greatly supported by our government and local arts programs, and have also received great praise for our performances in Europe and Asia. Contemporary Israeli dance has really come of age.”

The festival, produced by Edo Ceder, Michal Gamily, and Hila Kaplan, is the first Israel focused dance event of its kind in the U.S., and has plans to develop into an ongoing tradition. “We don’t expect to change the world with one festival,” says Ceder. “But we do hope to make an introduction and foster dialogue. We want to show others the variety and the power of the dance that comes from our nation.”

Contemporary Israeli Dance Week runs June 8-12, 2011 at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. 74A East 4th Street (btw Bowery & 2nd Ave) New York, NY 10003. For more information call: 001 212.475.7710 or go to www.lamama.org

About the Guest Author

Stacey Menchel Kussell received her Master’s degree in European and Mediterranean Studies from New York University. She has previously written on the Mediterranean experience of the Holocaust, and the Jewish community of Spain. Her work has been published in the Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Presentense Magazine. Her current project examines contemporary Israeli dance.

Batsheva Dance Company: The Evolution of Ohad Naharin’s “Sadeh21″

Deborah Friedes Galili — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:45:28 +0000

Photo: Ohad Naharin’s Sadeh21. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Watching Batsheva Dance Company in an open rehearsal of Ohad Naharin’s latest creation, I was keenly aware that evolution is at play. Sadeh21 – literally Field21 – is roughly 6 weeks into its genesis, and it is scheduled to premiere at the Sherover Theatre as part of the Israel Festival in Jerusalem on May 25, 2011. Dressed informally in their own clothes, the troupe’s twenty members showed a sizable segment of the work to a crowd of journalists in Studio Varda on April 13.

During a few sections, Naharin called out instructions to the dancers, highlighting the element of change that is part and parcel of the creative process. And indeed, in the six weeks between now and its premiere, Sadeh21 will no doubt undergo many changes. What we writers will see in May will bear a resemblance to its forerunner, but it will look decidedly different. Onstage, there will be choreographic sections that we have not yet viewed and alterations to what we did watch – additions, subtractions, refinements. Naharin noted that he and the cast have paid special attention to the interpretation of the work, which will certainly deepen with time. And in the theater, Sadeh21’s full staging will be revealed, including lighting by Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi) and costumes by Ariel Cohen.

Photo: Ohad Naharin’s Sadeh21. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Yet even at this early point of its development, Sadeh21 is rich with layers. The composition juxtaposes solos and duets with larger ensembles, clean lines and formations with an organic chaos that, when featuring all twenty dancers, brings to mind the image of children gleefully tearing across a playground. Sometimes a particular structural motif surfaces, the clarity of form enhancing the strength of a section as it unfolds. And throughout, the movement captivates and surprises. Bodies extend to their furthest points and then contract, speedily changing shape with seemingly no preparation and referencing motions both familiar and novel. These dancers may have the same flesh and bone makeup as the rest of us, but at times they appear to be pure liquid, poured into constantly shifting molds.

Naharin’s movement language, Gaga, has been used as a toolbox throughout the construction of Sadeh21, and traces of the ideas explored in classes are visible to viewers who have taken Gaga. Several women slink into their own gentle grooves before periodically convening to start a small gesture in unison – clapping, tracing a circle in the air with one finger, making a fist and punching, pushing the pelvis upwards from a crablike crouch. Keeping the same tempo, the dancers gradually increase the size of the movement until it is as big as possible, enlisting more and more of their bodies until every part is contributing to the effort. While the movement can be silly, it is sophisticated, imbued with pleasure in the discovery of new options and laced with humor. Both a woman pattering offstage on all fours with her tail in the air and a man hopping across the space with one leg tucked up flamingo-style bring a smile to my face; a woman rhythmically lifting her hips in a long and winding march endears herself to me.

It’s not just the clever, sometimes lighthearted physicality that stirs my feelings in this version of Sadeh21. The interactions between the dancers – from simple looks to tender clasps of hands to more intricately designed contact – resonate with a range of emotions. And when a man tilts his face up, assumes an optimistic expression and high-pitched tone, and verbalizes sweetly in an invented language, I can’t understand what he is saying. But I am nevertheless drawn to him, and I find myself responding with laughter, affection, and a touch of concern as he is forcibly removed to the side of the stage.

Photo: Ohad Naharin’s Sadeh21. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Somehow, the emotional power of the dance seems closer to the surface in Sadeh21, more readily available and potent than in some of Naharin’s recent creations such as MAX (2007) and Hora (2009). From this viewing, it seems that the work may share the epic tone and theatrical prowess that enthralled audiences in Naharin’s earlier productions for the Israel Festival, including Kyr (1990) and Z/na (1995). It may well be that in Sadeh21, Naharin has gathered the fruits of his artistic research over his twenty-one years at the helm of Batsheva – the more overtly dramatic sensibility that characterized his large-scale works from the 1990s and the cornucopia of physical possibilities gleaned through Gaga – and married them together. Sadeh21’s own evolution will continue in the womb of the studio during the next six weeks, and knowing Naharin’s ongoing engagement with his creations, the work will certainly change further as it lives in performance. I for one am interested in seeing the dance in its next developmental stages – and in contemplating its place in Naharin’s artistic evolution.

Performance Information

Batsheva Dance Company will premiere Ohad Naharin’s Sadeh21 during the Israel Festival at Jerusalem’s Sherover Theatre on May 25-27, 2011. Additional performances include May 31-June 4 (Herzliya Performing Arts Centre), June 5 (Modi’in Performing Arts Centre), June 9-11 (Suzanne Dellal Centre), and June 13 (Carmiel Performing Arts Centre).

Reflections on a Batsheva Season

Deborah Friedes Galili — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:05:02 +0000

Three by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

After the flurry of premieres during Curtain Up in November and the dazzling array of performances during International Exposure in December, the contemporary dance scene in Israel quiets down for the winter. To be sure, this is not exactly a period of hibernation; there are still concerts nearly every night, and here and there, a few new dances are unveiled. But with a break in the festival schedule, it seems that many choreographers hunker down and work on their next projects in the studio, while companies and independent artists re-present their recent repertory on stage.

Easily the most extensive and tempting display of repertory on view this year has come from Batsheva Dance Company, which has repeatedly drawn local audiences to the Suzanne Dellal Centre with a series of performances spread throughout the last few months. In this guest article, Brian Schaefer reflects on the company’s choreographic wealth.

* * *

Reflections on a Batsheva Season

Winter, 2010/11
MAX – Hora – Three – Kamuyot

By Brian Schaefer

Revisiting MAX

MAX by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

You can own a movie and re-watch it whenever the mood strikes. You can own a book and can pull it off the shelf when inspiration hits. You can own a painting and can glance at it every time you pass. Those things never change. Which doesn’t mean that you don’t discover new things upon multiple viewings, but the work itself won’t alter. And whether you watch that movie once or ten times, in the course of a year or over five, well, that’s entirely up to you.

Live performance is another thing altogether, dance in particular. The ability to revisit a particular work in and of itself is a rarity. Unless you live in a major dance center with major companies that host home seasons and have a repertory large enough to rotate on a regular basis, the opportunity to see a work multiple times is available to few. And even if you are lucky enough to see a work multiple times, chances are that casts will change and even perhaps a bit of the choreography itself. And because it’s live, anything can happen. Which is why we love it. In essence, you never really watch the same thing twice. And thus, you can’t own a dance. You can revisit a dance, stop by to say hello, check in on an old friend and see how he’s doing and what’s new in his life, but you can’t move in.

The first time I met MAX (choreography by Ohad Naharin and performed by the Batsheva Dance Company) was in 2007 at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv. The second time was a year later, also in Tel Aviv. The third time was in San Diego, CA in February of 2009, and the most recent meeting was last month, in December of 2010, back at Suzanne Dellal.

He looks more or less the same, as good as I remember him, though of course a few things have changed though I can’t entirely put my finger on them. He’s still passionate and intense, but in a quiet way, a bottled-up energy that is always on the verge of explosion. As I remember, there seems to be a cloud always hanging over MAX’s head, threatening to release a storm. And yet, there is still that twinkle in his eye, a sense of mischief.

He continues to speak that gibberish language, undecipherable and yet somehow vaguely familiar – a tongue that perhaps you learned before you were born. It’s ancient and angry and somehow more descriptive than any vocabulary you already know.

Though I’ve visited MAX several times before, perhaps more than any other dance piece that I haven’t myself been a part of, I keep forgetting how precise he his. How razor sharp those movements are, how quickly they slice, how unexpectedly they appear. It’s startling.

I forgot how quickly my heart beats when I’m with MAX. I forgot how magnetic he is – those moments of accumulation and repetition that trick me into a trance while still keeping me guessing (one…, one-two…, one-two-three…, all the way up to ten and then he starts again). I forgot that even in darkness, he makes me feel illuminated.

It’s all too rare to have such a simultaneously kinesthetic, emotional, and psychological response to a dance. Only masterpieces deliver such a potent combination and I do believe this is one. As only powerful performance can do, it remains in your body, not on your shelf.

And grateful am I that while I can never take MAX home with me, or see him on-demand, or dust him off for another look any time I choose, I have been able to visit him every now and then, to see this living, breathing piece of art grow and evolve, and allow him to reach out, grab my shoulders and shake me again and again.

Deconstructing the Hora

Hora by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Last year at International Exposure, the five-day festival of Israeli contemporary dance for arts presenters, writers, and creators from around the world, in a Q&A with choreographer Ohad Naharin following the performance of Hora by the Batsheva Dance Company, someone asked the inevitable question – “Why the name?” To which Mr. Naharin, in typical cheeky manner, replied that it doesn’t necessarily reference the traditional Israeli folk dance that first comes to mind. After all, he pointed out, “Hora means ‘hour’ in Spanish.” The name, like the work itself, is supposed to challenge your automatic associations.

Fine. But come on, when you’re the main Israeli dance company, performing in Israel, and you call something “Hora,” you know exactly what people will default to. And when you give them the complete opposite of expectations created by the mind, the experience can be a disorienting one. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Naharin does wink at the traditional folk dance implied in the title, a main ingredient of Jewish weddings and B’nei Mitzvot. Following a dramatic opening image of the eleven dancers sitting on a long bench, illuminated in bright green (both floor and three surrounding walls are painted in a rich foliage tone), they stand and walk slowly forward, reach the lip of the stage, and do a gentle pas de bouree, which also looks like a half “grapevine” step, which is a staple of Rikudei Am (Hebrew for “Dance of the People” or folk dance). So within the first minute or so, he checks the box, gives you want you came for, and then proceeds for the next hour to smash it and whip it and break it down until it – or you – cries for mercy.

One should be wary about assigning any one idea or meaning to any piece that Naharin creates. They are far too abstract and atmospheric to extract something like a theme or specific commentary. But in Hora, both in title and in the use of some of the world’s most recognizable music (Strauss’ overture best known from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”) he explicitly employs popular elements – can we call them clichés? – with the express purpose of forcing you to overcome your previous knowledge and associations by re-contextualizing them and stripping them of their grand, universal meanings.

To which he’s only partially successful. Second time around, I still can’t overcome the gnawing familiarity of the music. This may indeed be the point – that cultural reference points once firmly engrained and globally accepted are impossible to purge – but that understanding doesn’t really serve his work. It’s a realization that’s removed from the choreography rather than a revelation that comes from it.

Thankfully, that idea doesn’t dominate the entire work. In the last ten minutes or so, the lights on stage dip to about 30% intensity and the dancers revisit some of the initial phrases and imagery. Yet what once felt bold and rebellious in broad light now feels a bit sad and timid when draped in shadow.

Naharin has never seemed to hold tradition in high esteem – which is why his company is always so unexpected – but when Hora begins illuminated and ends under a cloud with a single dancer walking forward slowly but steadily while the rest look on, distant and indifferent, it does seem to mourn the loss of something intangible, something that at one point might have held people together, something that once was but is no longer and that without it, we are forced to make sense of this world alone.

Learning to Count to THREE

Three by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

They’re staring at me again. Those Batsheva dancers. Always staring. Just standing there and glaring at me. Or begging me. Like they’re accusing me of something. Or inviting me to join them. Or just completely indifferent and waiting for me to decide.

Despite the colorful, casual costumes that gives Shalosh (Hebrew for “Three”) a kind of United Colors of Benetton aesthetic, it’s a work that feels deceptively bright, a rainbow on stage that is merely meant to distract you from the murkiness that lies within and rumbles just below the surface.

Like it’s choreographic cousins, MAX and Hora, Shalosh juxtaposes spastic, explosive segments of individual ecstasy (or meltdown?) with periods of eerie calm and mechanic unison. As always, the sudden shifts between these worlds creates the tension between the extremes that defines the recent works of Ohad Naharin.

This particularly manifests itself in Shalosh in the second, middle section (the work earns its title from the three chapters, Bellus, Humus, and Secus) in which the company’s women move as a single organism; slithering across the stage, reclining suggestively on the floor, puncturing the contemplative air with occasional sharp jolts all effortlessly in sync. It’s a quiet journey, almost pacifying, except those small moments when something volatile and aggressive bubbles to the surface.

In contrast, in the third section, Secus, the company divides into three lines, each facing the audience; the first person in each line presents a nonchalant pose or short movement phrase before stepping to the back of the line to make way for the next. It’s a conveyor belt of revealing, unexpected gestural offerings, one after the other, at the same time both industrial production and also the rebellion against it.

And unlike Humus which fused the women into a single breathing form that the mind can easily comprehend, Secus demands that the eyes scan and the head whips to try to hear these three competing conversations that are alternately jarring, provocative, quiet, and desperate. Yet as soon as you are captivated by one image or dancer, you’ve already missed something else. By trying to listen in on all of them, you soon understand that you actually hear nothing. Quite the challenge for a society that thinks it’s mastered the art of multi-tasking.

Shalosh is a work that lays its guts on the table and shows you its insides and then winks at you with a smirk. It makes you feel naked, stripped of whatever guard you’ve brought to the theater, whatever protective gear you shroud yourself in on a daily basis. Because regardless of how thick and impenetrable we think our skin is, it cannot withstand the honesty of those stares. Begging, accusing, inviting, or just waiting for you to decide.

Through a Child’s Eyes

Kamuyot by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Of all the places one would least likely expect to see a four-year-old, I imagine a performance of the Batsheva Dance Company would be somewhat high on the list. After all, the company is known for its rather harsh and aggressive physicality, it’s overt and unromantic sexuality, and extreme abstraction of movement. Yet Varda Studio on Saturday morning was filled with young families and a gaggle of tykes sitting patiently on all four sides of the performance space, some bouncing on their parent’s lap, others leaning against older brothers and sisters along for the ride.

Kamuyot is one of Naharin’s creations for the Batsheva Ensemble (the second company consisting of mostly younger dancers, all technically excellent) that borrows some ideas and phrases from that other intimate Batsheva work performed in a studio surrounded by the audience, Mamootot. But whereas the latter dance features a cast in identical, flesh-colored costumes with a nude solo in the middle, Kamuyot features bright Catholic schoolboy/girl-meets-retro-punk outfits and, well, no nude solo. That would be entirely inappropriate.

But the refreshing thing is how little the two differ from each other conceptually. Both challenge the traditional proscenium presentation of dance by bringing the audience into the game. Spaces are reserved throughout the audience for the dancers to sit during the work, blending the line between spectator and performer. The proximity of the dancers to the audience is utilized and exploited in moments such as when the dancers walk slowly around the perimeter, catching the gaze of audience members, pausing to hold hands and share a moment.

Some adults who attended Mamootot when I saw it found those moments uncomfortable. The children in Kamuyot seemed to find them thrilling. The sense of involvement and participation allowed the children, most quite young, to remain remarkably engaged and attentive for the hour-long work and didn’t invade on any sense of personal space that we adults so carefully cultivate as we age. Perhaps most striking, the children seemed to simply accept everything that was happening before their eyes and just enjoy the pure physical pictures being played out in front of them.

On Wednesday, when attending a performance of Batsheva’s Three, several of my companions remarked following the show that they just “didn’t get it.” It’s a comment that didn’t even cross the mind of the little ones sitting wide-eyed in the studio on Saturday. “What an uninteresting observation!” the kids would likely respond. What is there to get? It’s about letting go and allowing yourself to be taken on a journey, to simply respond to whatever unexpected image or idea pops up.

In the United States, we don’t trust children’s ability to make sense of abstract art. We adults project our discomfort with work that doesn’t conform to a certain style or traditional notion of beauty and assume that children will share our apprehension. Consider that your children, or as a child yourself, likely attended special matinees of the Nutcracker, or heard Bach at the symphony or toured a Monet exhibition at a fine art museum but likely didn’t have much exposure to, say, Merce Cunningham or John Cage or Mark Rothko. We decide that children won’t be able to make sense of these avant-garde artists. But maybe it’s us that are holding them back.

As adults, we bring expectations into every situation – whether a job, a relationship, or a dance performance. We demand that events unfold in an orderly fashion, that everything connects to something else, that in the end we are given a clear message so we can put it in a box, assign a label, and then evaluate accordingly. But perhaps there is something to learn from a child who accepts what is offered with generous curiosity. Perhaps that acceptance allows for even greater insight and enjoyment. And perhaps that is something we can learn to bring into other aspects of our lives as well.

About the Guest Author

Brian Schaefer is a writer and arts administrator from California where he was the dance critic for the San Diego News Network and the Program Manager for ArtPower! at the University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the Dance Critics Association, Dance/USA, and a recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Arts Journalism. He is currently living in Tel Aviv as a 2010-2011 Dorot Fellow and reflects on all things dance at www.MyTwoLeftFeet.net.

Celebrating Dr. Ruth Eshel and Ethiopian Shoulder Dancing in Israel

Deborah Friedes Galili — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:23:24 +0000

Beta Dance Troupe. Photo by Irene Fertik.

She is a pioneer of Israel’s fringe dance, presenting avant-garde solos in the late 1970s when performing in large, established repertory companies was the norm. She is a leading commentator on Israeli concert dance, contributing scholarly articles and books as well as lively criticism in major newspapers and journals. And in the last fifteen years, Dr. Ruth Eshel has also filled another key role: that of a visionary, arranging the traditional shoulder dance brought by Ethiopian immigrants into entrancing contemporary compositions for the stage.

It is no wonder that Dr. Eshel was captivated by the Ethiopian immigrants’ movement when she set out to document their dance for the Dance Library of Israel. There is something particularly mesmerizing about the minute isolations of the shoulders that these dancers perform; each articulation itself is clearly cut, but when strung together at high speed, the effect can be likened to that of a hummingbird swiftly beating its wings. The dancers’ shoulders jump, skip, hop, roll, punch forward and back, and shift side to side. With this vocabulary, their shoulders talk, sing, cry, and laugh.

Her interest piqued, Dr. Eshel formed a student company called Eskesta (“shoulder dancing” in Amharic) at the University of Haifa in 1995 and directed the troupe for ten years, leading it on tours to great acclaim. In 2005, she founded Beta Dance Troupe in the Neve Yosef community center in Haifa, again building a distinctive repertory blending traditional shoulder dancing with a contemporary choreographic framework. This company has also won accolades at home and abroad for its spirited performances.

Now, on January 26, a celebration of Dr. Eshel’s work with both the Eskesta and Beta troupes will be held in Tel Aviv at the Inbal Ethnic Arts Center. After gathering at 8:00 p.m., a panel will convene at 8:30 to share memories. Beta Dance Troupe will take the stage at 9:00 for a short performance, followed by a screening of the film Shoulder Dancing, which includes footage of the companies’ rehearsals and performances. The evening will close with an invitation for everyone to dance.

Poster for the film Shoulder Dancing. Courtesy Ruth Eshel.

For those of you who cannot partake in the live celebration – or are curious about shoulder dancing – below is a clip of Beta Dance Troupe in Dr. Eshel’s aptly named Celebration (2007).

Contemporary Israeli Dance Week: Gala in New York

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:19:50 +0000

Quiet by Arkadi Zaides. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Heads up, New Yorkers! In June, a wave of contemporary dance from Israel is coming your way as part of the annual La MaMa Moves Festival. The city is already home to an astonishing number of Israeli-born choreographers, and La MaMa’s celebration will include five of these New York-based artists and groups: Deganit Shemy, LeeSaar The Company, Netta Yerushalmy, YelleB Dance Ensemble, and Neta Pulvermacher. But the Contemporary Israeli Dance Week mini-festival is also scheduled to feature a stellar line-up straight from Israel. Yasmeen Godder, Arkadi Zaides, Idan Cohen, Maya Brinner, and the team of Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde will offer a glimpse of the latest in Israeli-made productions, and master classes will give New York dancers a taste of what’s happening in local studios.

On Monday, January 31, a gala evening featuring Deganit Shemy, LeeSaar The Company, Netta Yerushalmy, and YelleB Dance Ensemble will be held at La MaMa E.T.C. (Experimental Club). The gala is a fundraiser for the Contemporary Israeli Dance Week, and more information about tickets can be found at the festival’s website. For those of you who can’t make it to the gala, here’s a sneak peak at the festival with clips of works by Godder, Zaides, Cohen, Brinner,and Borer and Erde.

Video: Preview of Contemporary Israeli Dance Week

International Exposure 2010: Video Preview

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:24:29 +0000

Nir Ben-Gal and Liat Dror’s Terminal B. Photo by Naama Nada.

Even though December has started and the shelves of Tel Aviv’s bakeries are lined with sufganiot, the jelly donuts traditionally eaten during Hanukkah, many of Tel Aviv’s residents are still walking around in tank tops and sandals. Unusually hot days and sunny skies have made it easy for the masses to pretend that summer never ended. But for those of us who follow the dance field, there is no denying that the calendar year is coming to a close. The tip-off is in the posters and fliers on display at Suzanne Dellal as well as the press releases and invitations received via e-mail, all announcing the arrival of the annual showcase of Israeli dance: International Exposure.

Nimrod Freed’s Flash. Photo by Itamar Freed.

The exact shape and scope of International Exposure have shifted since its first incarnation sixteen years ago. For many years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it operated in conjunction with Curtain Up, the country’s premiere platform for new works by independent choreographers. The festival has stretched over a varying number of days and welcomed crowds both intimate and large. But throughout, the goal has remained the same: to display the wealth of works premiered over the past year to foreign arts presenters, dignitaries, and journalists in the hopes of sending Israeli dance around the world.

Orly Portal’s Gnawia

International Exposure 2010 will run from Wednesday, December 8 through Sunday, December 12, and the schedule features an enticing array of established companies and independent choreographers. Most of the programs will take place at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, but a number of concerts and informal showings will take place at other performance venues and studios. And while some of the events are offered only to the festival’s guests, many of the shows are open to the public. Below is a guide to the events that are accessible to local dance lovers (and a sneak peek at International Exposure for those of you who are not in town). All shows are at Suzanne Dellal unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, December 8

Video: Ohad Naharin’s Kyr/Zina

International Exposure starts out with the Batsheva Ensemble, the Batsheva Dance Company’s junior division, performing Ohad Naharin’s Kyr/Zina at 20:00.

Thursday, December 9

Rami Be’er’s Transform. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

International Exposure’s first full day kicks off at 11:00 with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Rami Be’er’s new Transform, which premiered during the international Tel Aviv Dance festival this past fall.

Curtain Up 2010 will be represented by three separate bills shown at 16:00, 19:00, and 22:30.

Video: Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde’s Ana

Thursday’s offerings also include a performance of Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde’s latest collaboration, Ana, at 20:30.

Friday, December 10

Friday’s programming includes a fair amount of moving about to different theaters in the area.

Video: The Project in Jacopo Godani’s Light Years.

At 14:00, The Project – a joint initiative by the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera – will present a mixed bill at the Opera House in the heart of Tel Aviv. The program includes Emanuel Gat’s Through the Center, Jacopo Godani’s Light Years, and Marco Goeke’s Supernova.

Video: Vertigo in Mana

Vertigo Dance Company presents a hit from last year, Mana, at the Givatayim Theater at 17:00. Choreographed by Noa Wertheim, Mana premiered during the twentieth anniversary of the Curtain Up festival.

Video: Maria Kong in Miss Brazil

Maria Kong reprises its program from the Tel Aviv Dance festival, Miss Brazil, at 21:00 at Suzanne Dellal. The company’s four founders – Anderson Braz, Talia Landa, Leo Lerus, and Ya’ara Moses – collaborated on the first half of the bill, Miss, while guest choreographer Idan Cohen contributed the second half, Brazil.

Saturday, December 11

Saturday is primarily a day of mixed bills, titled Exposures, that feature both shorter dances in their entirety alongside excerpts from full-evening works.

Video: Yoram Karmi’s Particle Accelerator

Exposure 1, at 11:00, features Fresco Dance Group in an excerpt from the evening-length Particle Accelerator. The bill is rounded out by Rachel Erdos’s OU’.

Video: Rachel Erdos’s OU’

Odelya Kuperberg’s Tzitzushka.

At 13:00, Exposure 2 will include Odelya Kuperberg’s Tzitzushka and a new work from Idan Sharabi.

Video: Liat Dror’s Terminal B

Nir Ben-Gal and Liat Dror bring their company from Mizpe Ramon to show Dror’s Terminal B at 14:00.

Video: Mami Shimazaki’s Loop People

At 15:00, Mami Shimizaki’s Loop People shares the bill with Orly Portal’s Gnawia in Exposure 3.

Video: Kamea Dance Company in Tamir Ginz’s Srul

The day finishes at 22:30 with Exposure 4, featuring Kamea Dance Company in an excerpt from Tamir Ginz’s Srul along with Nimrod Freed’s Flash.

Sunday, December 12

Video: Sharon Eyal’s Bill

After a whirlwind of performances, International Exposure 2010 closes with Batsheva Dance Company in Sharon Eyal’s Bill.

Curtain Up 2010: Video Preview

Deborah Friedes Galili — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:13:38 +0000

Dana Ruttenberg’s Private I’s premieres in Curtain 3. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

In its 21-year history, Curtain Up – Israel’s primary platform for premieres by independent Israeli choreographers – has cycled through a series of artistic directors and experimented with different formats. To celebrate two decades of the festival’s existence in 2009, six alumni of Curtain Up created new works and selected up-and-coming choreographers to share their evenings. Now, in a development of last year’s innovative programming, this year’s artistic directors are four artists who have previously shown their work in Curtain Up: Tamar Borer, Ronit Ziv, Renana Raz, and Sahar Azimi. Each veteran choreographer is overseeing an evening-long program of new works by emerging choreographers, providing a valuable outside eye for the creators on his or her bill. With this setup, Curtain Up has added a layer of artistic support to the financial assistance that has long been a major benefit of participation in the festival.

Iris Erez’s Homesick is featured in Curtain 1. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

This year’s line-up of choreographers includes some faces familiar to Curtain Up audiences. Iris Erez was featured last year on Yasmeen Godder’s curtain, Elad Schechter shared the stage in 2009 with Vertigo Dance Company, and Maya Brinner showed her work on Noa Dar’s 2009 program; meanwhile, Michael Getman presented his work in previous seasons of Curtain Up. Other artists in this year’s festival have shown their recent works in Tmuna Theater’s annual Intimadance and in Shades of Dance, a biennial platform for new choreographers that often serves as a stepping stone to Curtain Up.

Shlomi Frige’s Rashomon premieres in Curtain 4. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Besides the four programs, this year’s Curtain Up includes an array of events that encourage interaction between the artists and the wider public. Conversations with the artistic directors and choreographers will precede some of the performances, and a series of workshops will be held in conjunction with the Amuta (the Choreographer’s Society). The culminating event of Curtain Up 2010 is a landmark symposium geared to spark conversation about dance and the body. Organized by Yael Nativ, this symposium will be held on Friday, December 3 in Jaffa at the Teiva, 19 Sderot Yerushalayim, from 9:00 until 1:30 in the afternoon. The first session will contain more academic discussions of selected topics, and the second session will feature four dialogues between dance scholars and each of the artistic directors of this year’s Curtain Up festival. Admission is free to the public.

Rotem Tashach’s Monuments is featured in Curtain 2. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Dance lovers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem can catch the four curtains in late November and early December at bargain prices – tickets are a mere 60 NIS. The Curtain Up programs will tour later this season to other areas around Israel, including Kfar Blum and potentially Dimona. And if you’re not in Israel – or if you just want a sneak peek at what you’ll see onstage soon – check out the video preview of each curtain below!

Curtain 1

Directed by Tamar Borer, Curtain 1 features works by Iris Erez and Michael Getman.

Performance schedule:
Suzanne Dellal: November 25 and December 3
Jerusalem Theatre: December 2

Video: Iris Erez’s Homesick

Video: Michael Getman’s Father and Feather

Curtain 2

Ronit Ziv served as the artistic director for Curtain 2, which includes works by Tammy and Ronen Itzhaki, Rotem Tashach, and Ofra Idel.

Performance schedule:
Suzanne Dellal: November 24 and December 2
Jerusalem Theatre: December 1

Video: Ofra Idel’s Horse Tail

Video: Tammy and Ronen Itzhaki’s Have You Done

Video: Rotem Tashach’s Monuments

Curtain 3

Under the artistic direction of Renana Raz, Curtain 3 features the work of three female choreographers: Gili Navot-Friedman, Maya Brinner, and Dana Ruttenberg.

Performance schedule:
Suzanne Dellal: November 27 and December 1
Jerusalem Theatre: November 29

Video: Maya Brinner’s The Show

Video: Dana Ruttenberg’s Private I’s

Video: Gili Navot-Friedman’s Check-in

Curtain 4

Three male choreographers – Ariel Cohen, Elad Schechter, and Shlomi Frige – will show their work in Curtain 4, under the artistic direction of Sahar Azimi.

Performance schedule:
Suzanne Dellal: November 26 and December 4
Jerusalem Theatre: November 30

Video: Elad Schechter’s Funis

Video: Ariel Cohen’s The Battle for the 21st Century’s Love

Video: Shlomi Frige’s Rashomon

The Project: Repertory Returns to Israeli Dance

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:07:30 +0000

Video: The Project in Emanuel Gat’s Through the Center

Although repertory companies once dominated the Israeli modern dance scene, troupes showcasing work by one or two contemporary choreographers have reigned supreme from the 1990s onwards. But repertory is returning to the Israeli concert stage with The Project, a cooperative venture by the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera.

The Project. Photo by Eyal Landesman.

The Project benefits from an experienced creative team. Yair Vardi, director of Suzanne Dellal, and Hannah Munitz, general director of the Israeli Opera, are serving as artistic directors, and the manager is Mate Moray, a former soloist with the Israel Ballet who also directs the dance program in Matan. More than 260 dancers auditioned, and 13 were selected to participate in The Project.

For the last several months, the newly formed group trained together in ballet and learned three dances by choreographers based in Europe: Emanuel Gat’s Through the Center, Jacopo Godani’s Light Years, and Marco Goeke’s Supernova. Although the repertory draws on the clean lines and technical virtuosity of ballet, each work has a distinctive, contemporary feel. Audiences can enjoy the spread of dance when The Project debuts at the Opera House in Tel Aviv on November 30. A repeat performance will be held on December 10, also at the Opera House.

Fresco Dance Company: Particle Accelerator

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:05:05 +0000

Video: Trailer for Fresco Dance Group in Yoram Karmi’s Particle Accelerator

This article is a guest post by Lindsay Reich. Enjoy!

* * *

On Sunday, October 31st, the Fresco Dance Company, with artistic direction and choreography by Yoram Karmi, performed their newest and most critically acclaimed work, Particle Accelerator, at the Suzanne Dellal Center to a completely full house. All aspects of the performance were outstanding and made a lasting impression on the audience.

The theme of technology, acknowledged in the title, remained consistent throughout the work, which also explored human relationships and emotion. The use of the stage, particularly the stage elevator, created an industrial setting and contributed to a captivating duet dealing with the opposition between technology and the desire to feel human emotion. Throughout the piece, the use of simple daily actions contrasted the high-energy movement and provided insight into human tendencies and desires. For example, the piece began with a single dancer vacuuming the stage, embodying the frustration with run-down technology. Later, during a “lunch break” in the middle of the work, the dancer amplified the feeling of loneliness by attempting to converse with a dummy. The contrast between moments of human emotions embodied in beautifully choreographed duets and solos versus the uniformity and precise movement of the entire group helped to develop an engaging and thoughtful theme.

Fresco Dance Group in Yoram Karmi’s Particle Accelerator. Photo by Vera Vladimirsky.

Also exceptional in the performance was the intricate movement vocabulary executed with precise technique by the dancers. With a few new cast members since the premiere of the work, including dancers Britian Jackson and Sela Freed, the company worked together in skillful unison and generated an exciting energy easily shared with the audience. The movement incorporated challenging ballet vocabulary mixed with original and detailed choreography, creating a delightful and captivating performance.

Upcoming Performances

The Fresco Dance Company will be performing Particle Accelerator again at the Suzanne Dellal Center on December 11^th at 11:00 a.m. as a part of the International Exposure festival. Tickets can be purchased at the box office: 03-5105656.

There will also be another performance on December 22^nd at the Holon Theatre at 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the box office: 03-5023001.

About the Author

Lindsay Reich was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois in the northern suburbs of Chicago. She spent her childhood studying dance at Fisher Dance Center in ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop and tap. She continued her study of dance and environmental studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she began choreographing and developing many projects. Since arriving in Israel after graduation, she has held contact improvisation workshops at Kfar Sagol Eco-Village and will be teaching dance classes at the Ariel School in Hod HaSharon. The Ariel School offers classes in all forms of artistic expression, please call for more information: 09-7604567 or 052-6554629.

Tel Aviv Dance 2010

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:37:55 +0000

Video: Preview of Tel Aviv Dance 2010

Four years after its founding, the Tel Aviv Dance festival – an outgrowth and expansion of the earlier Dance Europa festival – is now an eagerly anticipated annual staple of Israel’s jam-packed dance calendar. From October 4-30, dance lovers can take a whirlwind world tour of exciting, exceptionally diverse dance from the comfort of two local dance hubs, the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera – Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre (TAPAC).

Yair Vardi (director of Suzanne Dellal) and Hannah Munitz (director of the Opera House) declared in a press release, “As each year in the festival, we try to keep the Israeli audience up to date and present contemporary dance from all over the world, including intriguing, far-away places. This year the festival will host premieres from dance companies from South Africa, South Korea, and China alongside those from the U.S., Canada, France, and Israel.”

The numbers are indeed impressive: by the end of the festival, 12 companies from 9 countries will present 34 performances. And the breadth of genres and aesthetics on display is breathtaking. Tel Aviv Dance 2010′s programming runs the gamut from hip-hop to ballet and offers lavish large-scale works alongside more intimate and modest approaches.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Sutra. Photo by Hugo Glendinning. Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

Tel Aviv Dance 2010′s lineup includes some of the biggest names, old and new, in modern and contemporary dance. From Belgium hails Eastman, a young company headed by the acclaimed Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Eastman will offer Aleko, Faun, and a new work at Suzanne Dellal. Cherkaoui’s striking Sutra, a collaboration with sculptor Antony Gormley, composer Szymon Braska, and monks from the Shaolin Temple in China, will also be performed at the Opera.

The U.S. modern dance powerhouse Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will also visit the Opera, bringing not only Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations but also George Faison’s Suite Otis, Ronald K. Brown’s Dancing Spirit, and Robert Battle’s Unfold.

Kader Attou’s Petites Histoires.com. Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

Hip-hop also makes a few appearances on this year’s program. The French troupe Accrorap brings Algerian choreographer Kader Attou’s PetitesHistoires.com, while ten male dancers from South Korea will offer Shin Chang Ho’s No Comment. On the same bill with No Comment is Kim Jin-Mi’s A Body Conflicting with Emotion, a work for four women.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Carmina Burana. Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

Some ballet influence is visible as well in Tel Aviv Dance 2010′s lineup. From Canada hails the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Mauricio Wainrot’s Carmina Burana and Peter Quanz’s In Tandem. 10 principal dancers from the acclaimed New York City Ballet present a program called To Dance, with excerpts of works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, and Tom Gold.

Dada Masilo’s Carmen. Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

Rising star Dada Masilo, a 24-year-old dancer and choreographer from South Africa, has also revealed a predilection towards ballet influences in her work. For Tel Aviv Dance, Masilo brings her dance theater work Carmen to Suzanne Dellal.

Also among this year’s offerings is the Spanish dancer and choreographer Miguel Angel Berna’s sweeping Goya, inspired by painter Francisco Goya.

Maria Kong in Miss Brazil. Photo by Ascaf.

Dance from Israel forms a strong presence in this year’s programming. Barak Marshall’s Rooster, which was a success at the Opera House during Tel Aviv Dance 2009, will make an appearance in 2010 at Suzanne Dellal. Batsheva Dance Company will present house choreographer Sharon Eyal’s Bill, which debuted last May, while the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company will unveil Rami Be’er’s newest work, Transform. Maria Kong Dancers Company, a collective of dancer-choreographers Anderson Braz, Talia Landa, Leo Lerus, and Ya’ara Moses, will offer their own creation Miss as well as Brazil by Idan Cohen.

For a more in depth look at what is in store during Tel Aviv Dance, check out the longer video below. The clips are, in order, Accrorap, Shin Chang Ho, Kim Jin-Mi, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Dada Masilo, Barak Marshall, New York City Ballet, Batsheva Dance Company, Eastman, Miguel Angel Berra, Winnipeg Royal Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Maria Kong, and Eastman.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna to Perform in Israel

Deborah Friedes Galili — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:48:31 +0000

Video: Trailer for Mats Ek’s Place with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna

An expectant buzz traveled through the crowd. A constellation of flashbulbs went off. A row of red recording lights switched on. A sea of pens was poised above blank paper. “It’s all very exciting,” acknowledged the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s director, Yair Vardi, with a smile.

It was a very exciting press conference indeed. Two legendary dancers – Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna – were seated in Studio A to discuss their upcoming performances at Suzanne Dellal on Saturday June 26 and at the Herzliya Performing Arts Center on June 28-30. The program, titled “Three solos and a duet,” showcases the sublime artistry of these great talents in works by equally masterful choreographers. The pair will dance together in an excerpt from Mats Ek’s Solo for Two (1996) and in Ek’s Place (2007). Baryshnikov will also perform Benjamin Millepied’s Years later (2006 & 2009) and Valse-Fantasie (2009) by Alexei Ratmansky, whom the dancer calls a “salvation” for ballet in the U.S.

Baryshnikov explained, “This program is highly personal, in many respects,” noting that it “[reflects] some kind of values which we both pursue on stage” including “life experiences and the complexities of people who have lived.” He further opined that although the program is composed of shorter works, “It’s not just a salad with little appetizers. Each piece means something.”

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna in Mats Ek’s Place (Ställe). Photo by Bengt Wanselius.

While the press conference was ostensibly geared to promote these eagerly anticipated concerts, it was a remarkable opportunity to hear one of the dance world’s most iconic figures reflect on his illustrious career and offer his perspective on a variety of issues within the broader dance field. Indeed, as members of the crowd eagerly peppered Baryshnikov with questions (Laguna preferred to remain silent, smiling warmly throughout), the discussion grew remarkably wide-ranging.

At times, the questions touched on political issues. When asked if he had considered canceling his appearance in Israel, as several famous musicians have done in the wake of the Gaza flotilla incident, Baryshnikov replied, “No, I didn’t. I made this commitment a long time ago;” he also emphasized later, “Art should not be about politics.” He added at another point in the conversation, “I have a lot of friends in Israel – former classmates, people that I danced with, dancers that I admired. Hopefully, Ana and I will meet a new generation of your audience and dance lovers.”

Another reporter noted that next week marks the 36^th anniversary of Baryshnikov’s defection from the U.S.S.R. and asked him how he felt about his decision to leave. In response, the dancer talked about the challenge of acclimating to the United States and remarked, “[My defection] was a necessity at that time, a very serious decision and a very difficult decision.”

On a lighter note, one attendee observed that a younger generation knows Baryshnikov not as a brilliant dancer but as Aleksandr Petrovsky, Carrie Bradshaw’s love interest in the popular television series Sex and the City. “Isn’t that a horrifying thought!” laughed Baryshnikov before explaining that although he enjoyed this acting gig, he does not miss playing the role.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna in Mats Ek’s Place (Ställe). Photo by Bengt Wanselius.

But most of the inquiries focused on Baryshnikov’s dancing itself, and several people referred back to his ballet roots in their questions. Calling ballet his “alma mater,” the Kirov-trained dancer remarked, “The knowledge of the a-b-c of classical dance helped me,” attributing his longevity and coordination to his early background in ballet. He also asserted, “I always believed that classical dance can be the most expressive kind of dance even though it only has a few steps.”

While one reporter mentioned that he had avidly watched videos of Baryshnikov’s interpretations of canonical ballet roles, the dancer said he himself was not a fan of filming performance. “I think the video gives a very murky layer of text to your performance,” he stated. “I believe that dance is a live form of art.” Baryshnikov offered up a few gems about this live art during the conversation. “It’s always a chutzpah to go onstage and know that you are receiving money to do something you love!” he exclaimed. Yet performance for him is far more than a living. “Those few minutes onstage in front of an audience are the closest to any kind of spirituality,” he said.

Regarding the current state of his art form, Baryshnikov observed that today’s dancers “are extraordinarily gifted” and “can do anything.” But with the recent loss of such creators as Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham, he admits, “We are a bit lost. I’m luckily not a choreographer . . . There’s always been pressure to create something in the highest order. It’s always a bit of Russian roulette when you create something.”

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna in Mats Ek’s Place (Ställe). Photo by Bengt Wanselius.

Addressing a question about the difficulties of dancing in his 50s and 60s, Baryshnikov noted that he has performed different repertory as he has aged. He stopped appearing in the ballet classics in his late thirties and turned instead to contemporary choreography. “Always the next project kept me on my toes, so to speak,” he punned, listing a series of renowned choreographers – Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham – who kept him onstage. His current repertory in fact demands the particular skills of a mature, seasoned performer rather than a younger, physically virtuosic dancer; indeed, he argued, the duets danced by himself and Laguna would look odd if performed by dancers in their twenties.

As his dance performances have become less frequent, Baryshnikov has broadened his activities, investigating the possibilities of acting in cinema and the theater. In 2005, he founded the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, which presents works in a variety of disciplines and supports artists’ exploration through residencies and fellowships. Eventually, Baryshnikov’s influence will shift offstage. “I know it’s the end of the road for me. Not a painful or sad but bittersweet occasion,” he acknowledged. Baryshnikov said that whether or not he continues to perform “depends on the material that choreographers offer.” “Dancers rely on the mercy of choreographers,” he noted.

Let us hope choreographers are merciful for a little while longer.

Sharon Eyal’s “Bill” is Back at Batsheva Dance Company

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:40:09 +0000

Video: Sharon Eyal’s Bill

I have a confession to make: I saw Sharon Eyal’s Bill three nights in a row. Besides the obvious draw of seeing Batsheva Dance Company’s latest production in its first performances, I was compelled to watch the dance again and again by the kaleidoscopic complexity of Eyal’s choreography for this twenty-one member group. On each repeat viewing, I got to know Bill better, uncovering even more layers in the ensemble work and noticing the nuances in the movement. The already formidable power of the dance only grew stronger with time.

For other dance enthusiasts who might want to catch Bill again – and for new audience members who have yet to be acquainted with Bill - now is your chance! Batsheva is bringing the work to the Suzanne Dellal Center for a second run from June 13-16.

This article was originally published in the Jerusalem Post as “Meet Bill.”

* * *

Meet Bill

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

With a strong character, a quirky sense of humor, and a big heart, Bill makes a memorable first impression. But Bill is not a man. Bill is the Batsheva Dance Company’s latest production by house choreographer Sharon Eyal, and it had its first run in May with performances at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv and the Herzliya Performing Arts Center.

When Eyal first transfixed audiences 20 years ago, it was with her own magnetic stage presence as a dancer with Batsheva. But in recent years, she has also generated buzz with her choreography. From her initial compositions presented under the framework of Batsheva Dancers Create to the evening-length, large-scale Bertolina and Makarova Kabisa, Eyal developed her distinctive artistic voice. Last season, local audiences were treated to the Batsheva Ensemble’s revamped version of Eyal’s earlier Love, while foreign crowds flocked to the Norwegian troupe Carte Blanche’s performances of the choreographer’s Killer Pig.

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Now with Bill, an hour-long work for Batsheva’s 21 dancers, Eyal picks up where she left off. “I feel I am in an endless process, and the creation Bill continues my latest works, Makarova Kabisa and Killer Pig,” she explains.

The throughline in her creative process is no doubt strengthened by her ongoing collaboration with several artists: co-creator Guy Bachar, musician and soundtrack designer Ori Lichtik, and lighting designer Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi).

Together, this team has fashioned a thoroughly contemporary aesthetic that permeates Eyal’s choreography. Like her other works, Bill is set to a virtually unceasing, throbbing blend of beats and melodies masterfully retooled by Lichtik on a sophisticated DJ system. Styled by Eyal and Bachar, the flesh-toned bodysuits that sheath the dancers like a second skin provide a ready canvas for the rich hues and striking geometry of Bambi’s lighting.

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

In Bill, the dancers’ singular look is further enhanced through piercing ice-blue contact lenses and slicked-back hair colored to match the shade of their costumes. Eyal notes, “The idea was to wear a sense of nakedness,” but adds, “Nudity is not interesting enough . . . Nudity is also obvious. On the other hand, it is important to me that they will see the body, that there will be another layer that will present the mechanical side. When everyone is dressed and appears almost the same, I feel more that the individual in each one of them breaks out.”

Though seemingly paradoxical, this is a fitting attitude for a choreographer who has frequently displayed a talent for marshaling large numbers of dancers across the stage, playing on the tensions between the individual and the group. A similar dynamic pervades Bill. Sometimes working as single unit and at other times clustered in small packs juxtaposed with one another, the dancers travel in a dizzying kaleidoscope of constantly changing formations. Occasionally soloists break through the mass’s movement, but ultimately it is a united group pulse that drives the work forward.

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Eyal remarks, “I love the dancers, especially when I see them in the duplication of the entire group as one,” and her skillful arrangement of the dancers along with the identical costumes successfully produce this desired effect.

Yet part of Bill’s impact lies in the nuanced workings of each individual body. Even the most basic stepping patterns are layered with subtle isolations, while more intricate phrases display the performers’ virtuosity, capitalizing on their extreme flexibility and gravity-defying leaps. Batsheva’s dancers are just as comfortable in slinky, undulating slow motion as they are in hard-hitting, superhuman movements executed at warp speed, and they can morph from one dynamic to the next in the blink of an eye. Equipping every dancer with an intense physicality and multiplying them together, Eyal finds a winning formula for Bill.

Batsheva Dance Company Premieres Sharon Eyal’s “Bill”

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:01:41 +0000

Video: Sharon Eyal’s Bill, in process

“Magic!”

Spurred by this shriek, the 21 dancers of the Batsheva Dance Company spring into action. They arch their backs, splay their hands, shoot their legs towards the ceiling, and vault high into the air. Amidst layers of throbbing rhythms, punctuated by more guttural cries and sharp claps, the dancers organize and reorganize themselves into constantly changing groupings. The ebb and flow of one large group’s rocking steps provides a mesmerizing baseline for a smaller ensemble’s shape shifting, which in turn sets off one man’s virtuosic, almost mechanical movement.

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

It is choreographer Sharon Eyal who has cast this spell, which goes by the name of Bill and is the Batsheva Dance Company’s newest production. Like Batsheva’s artistic director, Ohad Naharin, Eyal is currently celebrating her twenty-year anniversary with the company. She joined the troupe as a teenager and quickly captivated crowds while performing many memorable parts. Now offstage in the role of Batsheva’s house choreographer, Eyal is keeping the audience’s attention with her unique creations.

Bobbi Smith and Iyar Elezra in Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Of her latest work, Eyal explained in a press release, “I came to Bill with a very clear concept. It was easy for me to explain what I see and imagine; I could verbalize the work in a very precise way.” Working with the full company and with her seasoned team of collaborators – co-creator Guy Bachar, soundtrack designer Ori Lichtik, and lighting designer Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi) – Eyal brought her vision to life.

Reflecting further, Eyal added, “I feel I am in an endless process, and the creation Bill continues my previous works, Makarova Kabisa and Killer Pig.” While Bill certainly shares the masterful maneuvering of large groups, the looping of repeated movements, and the extreme physicality that characterize the choreographer’s earlier works, it is also marked by a highly distinctive look. The dancers are outfitted in full-length, skin-toned unitards, and their hair is similarly colored; meanwhile, their eyes all glint the same shade of light blue thanks to tinted contact lenses. Eyal notes, “The uniform clothing, the skin color and the identical eyes unite the whole group and bring out the soul and the special physicality of each and every dancer.”

Sharon Eyal’s Bill. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Besides the striking visual effect of the dancers’ costumes, Bill is filled with vivid images. Five dancers prowl on all fours like predatory creatures, surging forward and then sinking back onto their haunches. Three women assemble numerous variations on a heart shape using their assorted body parts, backed by a sea of dancers who form miniature hearts with their fingers, hands, and forearms. An enormous crowd clustered center stage suddenly disperses in all directions with a burst of angular jumps, creating the effect of a firework exploding midair.

And then there are the seemingly infinite permutations of group formations. In tight clumps or spread-out packs, and in trios or as a 21-member strong mass, the dancers travel across the stage with unison stepping patterns and more quirkily styled, technically complex movements. Sometimes, watching Bill is like observing the inner workings of a finely-tuned mechanical watch; each person, and each small group, is necessary for the whole to function. When these dancers come together, painting the entire space with their collective movement, there is indeed a sense of magic.

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The Batsheva Dance Company performs Sharon Eyal’s Bill at the Suzanne Dellal Center on May 7-8 and 10-14 before moving to Herzliya on May 15. For more information about tickets and future performances, visit Batsheva’s website.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

The Paul Taylor Dance Company Comes to Israel

Deborah Friedes Galili — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:07:45 +0000

Video: Paul Taylor Dance Company

I have to admit I have a soft spot for Paul Taylor. After spending twelve years immersed in ballet, I made the switch to modern dance in college, where the classes I took from Julie Strandberg were strongly influenced by Taylor’s technique. During both my undergraduate and graduate years, I had the good fortune to study with former Taylor dancers including Carolyn Adams and Victoria Uris. And through videos and concerts, I became acquainted with some of Taylor’s remarkable repertory. Now that the Paul Taylor Dance Company is touring to Israel, I’m looking forward to feasting my eyes on what promises to be a memorable mixed bill.

My preview of the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Israeli tour was originally published in the Jerusalem Post as “A Poet of the Body.”

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A Poet of the Body

Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire. Photo by Lois Greenfield.

Paul Taylor has come a long way since being dubbed as the “naughty boy” of dance by legendary modern dance pioneer Martha Graham. Over fifty years after shocking the American concert dance establishment with his avant-garde choreography, Taylor is regularly met with monikers of a different sort. Vanity Fair anointed him in 2004 as “the greatest choreographer in the world,” praise which has frequently been echoed by dance critics across the globe. Now Israeli audiences have a chance to see the famed dancemaker’s wares when the Paul Taylor Dance Company tours to Petach Tikva, Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.

Taylor made his first forays into choreography while still performing for Graham, and since his company’s debut in 1954, he has created an astonishing 131 dances. Yet far more impressive than the sheer number of his works is the high caliber of his artistic output. After Taylor’s initial experiments – which included one infamous four-minute piece composed purely of stillness – he developed a rich signature movement language and trained his company to dance with a special quality that might be described as weighted ease. His works are infused with this physical imprint as well as a keen sense of composition and a marvelously nuanced musicality. And whether abstract in nature or more specifically outfitted with settings and characters, Taylor’s dances wield a rare communicative power, speaking of and to the human spirit.

Taylor’s extensive body of work traverses an exceptionally wide thematic range, covers a full spectrum of moods, and boasts a broad array of musical accompaniment. This multifaceted diversity will be on display in the PTDC’s performances in Israel with a stellar line-up of three distinctive dances: Changes, Piazzolla Caldera, and Promethean Fire.

Paul Taylor’s Changes. Photo by Paul B. Goode.

Created in 2008, Changes hearkens back to an earlier era as evoked by the songs of the popular 1960s vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. Clad in bell-bottoms and hippie-style tops covered in psychedelic prints, the dancers start in a colorfully lit club atmosphere. Social dance crazes like the pony and the monkey blend seamlessly into Taylor’s own vocabulary as the cast moves through the highs – drug-induced and otherwise – and the lows of the time. Teetering and tilting, the group is swept across the stage by the winds of change.

Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera. Photo by Paul B. Goode.

Piazzolla Caldera (1997) transports the dancers to another atmosphere entirely, one inspired by a tango salon. Set to the music of renowned Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla and Jerzy Peterburshsky, a Polish composer best known for his tangos, Piazzolla Caldera is laced with passion. Drawing from the traditional steps of the tango as well as his personal style, Taylor pairs off his dancers and sends the couples into deep dips and swirling turns. Feisty flicks of the foot and sharper accents are juxtaposed with smooth, legato stretches. This sultry mix has proved to be a winning formula, enlivening a documentary that was made during the work’s creation and subsequently capturing the hearts of audiences and critics alike.

Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire. Photo by Lois Greenfield.

Yet it is Promethean Fire (2002) that is this triple bill’s crowning glory. Hailed by the New York Times’s Anna Kisselgoff as “one of the best works choreographed by Paul Taylor,” Promethean Fire does indeed feature some of Taylor’s finest craftsmanship. The choreographer artfully maneuvers his sixteen-member ensemble across the stage, alternately carving sweeping curves and striking lines through the space before assembling the dancers in stunning sculptural group formations. Taylor’s formal composition suits the grand orchestral score by J.S. Bach, and although the work is abstract, the dance is exceptionally moving, leaving the viewer with a sense of renewal.

Watching a more classically tailored masterpiece like Promethean Fire, it’s hard to imagine that Paul Taylor ever caused such scandal with his choreography. But while he has reinvented himself from the mischievous rebel to the celebrated master of modern dance, one characteristic has remained constant in Taylor’s evolving artistry: his uncommon ability to stir the audience’s emotions.

More Information

The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs at Heichal HaTarbut in Petach Tikva on April 27^th, the Haifa Auditorium on April 28^th, the Jerusalem Theater on April 29^th, and at the Opera House in Tel Aviv from May 1-4. Tickets (149-299 NIS) are available at 03-9125222 (Petach Tikva), 04-8418411 (Haifa), 02-6237000 (Jerusalem), and 03-6927777 (Tel Aviv).

Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s “Kamuyot”

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:09:56 +0000

Video: Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot

My first glimpse of the Batsheva Ensemble when I arrived in Israel was in Kamuyot, and I was able to revisit the work for a preview of the company’s most recent staging at Studio Varda in Suzanne Dellal last weekend.

A version of my article on Kamuyot was first published in the Jerusalem Post as “Stepping In.”

* * *

Stepping In

Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot isn’t your average family-friendly dance. It’s not built on fanciful fairy tales or familiar children’s stories, like the ballet classic The Nutcracker or modern dance renderings of Peter and the Wolf. In fact, it’s not based on any narrative at all. But the Batsheva Ensemble’s production is a uniquely engaging work that lives up to its billing as “a piece for children aged 6 to 90.”

Based on material from Naharin’s Mamootot and Moshe, both of which were created for more typical adult audiences, Kamuyot premiered in 2003 and has since entertained crowds across the country and around the world. Indeed, for the past few years, an international cast has toured Sweden in a popular joint production with the Riksteatern, while last season the Batsheva Ensemble brought Kamuyot to children in Rwanda.

This widespread success lies in large part in the special bond between performers and viewers that the work establishes from the outset. For starters, Kamuyot trades the traditional theater setting for the more informal, intimate studio space. Like the children and adults who have arrived to watch the show, the dancers gradually filter into the studio and find their seats on long benches that line all four sides of the room. Some even interact with people sitting around them, smiling broadly and chatting amiably. These performers are approachable rather than untouchable; in fact, in their prep-school inspired white shirts, plaid pants, and pleated skirts, Kamuyot’s young cast members could be the friendly teenagers next door.

Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

The dynamic connection between the performers and the audience is maintained once the dance itself begins. Kamuyot’s eclectic score – ranging from quirky electronica to nostalgic Americana and from Japanese rock to mellow reggae – kicks off with a rousing rendition of Lou Reed’s “We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together,” setting the tone for a performance that’s more interactive than most. Besides moving back and forth between their spots on the sidelines and the open space in the center, the dancers invite viewers to join them in a series of inventive postures and later walk around the perimeter, gazing softly into audience members’ eyes and occasionally taking a viewer’s hand.

Even when there’s not direct physical interaction between Kamuyot’s performers and spectators, a spirit of lively interplay among everyone present prevails. At one point, the dancers gamely address the challenge of being surrounded by the audience and pointedly cater to each row of viewers. To a rocking version of Bobby Freeman’s song “Do You Wanna Dance,” the cast jumps through a fast-paced phrase, strikes a pose, and then sprints to the next side of the studio to start all over again. In such a small area, every twinkle in their eyes and dimple in their cheeks is visible, revealing the dancers’ pleasure in captivating the crowd.

Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

The Batsheva Ensemble’s ebullient energy is infectious, and in this square space, the audience’s enthusiastic responses are equally contagious. Seen up close, the performers’ soaring, unbridled leaps and a few daring acrobatic feats elicit gasps from viewers of all ages. Other gestures – two men waving their tongues in the air, or one man smacking his face, thumping his thighs, and drumming on his chest – prompt giggles from children which soon spread to their parents. Moments of contact with the dancers frequently spur happy grins and a stream of excited whispers. And don’t be surprised if the end of the show induces ardent applause and even a dance party, with kids spilling from the bleachers to try out their own moves in the center of the room.

That’s the magic of Kamuyot. Naharin’s work eschews the storybook characters and wondrous stagecraft of so many productions geared towards families, but the one-of-a-kind experience it fosters possesses its own attraction – and this spell works its charms on children and adults alike.

Yael Flexer’s “The Living Room” at Tmuna Theater

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:00:14 +0000

Yael Flexer’s The Living Room. Photo by Chris Nash.

My preview of Yael Flexer’s The Living Room was initially published in the Jerusalem Post as “Make Yourself at Home.”

* * *

Make Yourself at Home

Like well-made furniture, Yael Flexer’s movement is functional. So perhaps it’s fitting that in Flexer’s The Living Room, coming soon to Tel Aviv’s Tmuna Theater, the dancers jokingly furnish the bare space themselves, pretending to be sofas, bookshelves, and reading lamps.

It’s this kind of lively imagination that launched Israeli-born choreographer Yael Flexer to the top of England’s contemporary dance scene. As a newcomer to the field, Flexer became choreographer in residence at The Place Theatre in London, and shortly thereafter, she founded Bedlam Dance Company. Over the years, her smart sense of humor, playful investigation of the nature of performance, and dynamic partnerships with artists in other disciplines made her a favorite in British dance circles.

Among Flexer’s constellation of collaborators is Nic Sandiland, an engineer-turned-artist whose adventurous work spans installations, video, and performance. The pair’s creative cooperation deepened during the last several years, and ultimately, the partners decided to coin their joint endeavor Yael Flexer, Nic Sandiland/Dance and Digital Works.

While the umbrella organization’s name might conjure up images of dances layered with digital media, Flexer notes, “We like to make very separate things.” She elaborates, “It’s almost like two sides of the coin, working in two different mediums. I think sometimes when people hear ‘Dance and Digital Work,’ they think of work that’s very hi-tech, and actually, the live work is very low-tech, no tech at all. And even though the installation work is hi-tech, it doesn’t have that hi-tech aesthetic. It’s really about intimacy with the viewer.”

Flexer’s live work similarly fosters this intimacy between performers and viewers. The choreographer explains that she is interested in exploring “the idea that we witness one another so it’s not just about the audience watching us [the performers] but it’s also about us in a sense watching them, and there’s a kind of equality of gaze and an equality of power between us. It’s always breaking the fourth wall.”

This fourth wall is decidedly demolished in The Living Room, which the company is touring to Israel. Reflecting on the setting of the dance, Flexer clarifies, “it’s not really a living room. I think it’s more a rehearsal space, and in some ways we’re inviting the audience into our space. . . . there’s something about allowing people into our space and having a very light or inviting essence of us all being together in one room.”

Yael Flexer’s The Living Room. Photo by Chris Nash.

In The Living Room, the choreographer and her fellow performers – an international cast of five dancers and the cellist Karni Postel, who hails from Israel – welcome the viewers into their world with witty banter. The dancers do not assume dramatic characters but instead perform as themselves, and as the work references the real situations and domestic lives of those onstage, the audience develops a special familiarity with the performers.

The dancers’ often comical attempts to imagine and become furniture in their performance space further engage and entertain the viewer. Yet while these efforts may be couched in levity, they also provide an opportunity for deeper contemplation on the concept of home. Though Flexer asserts that there are many possible interpretations of The Living Room, she acknowledges that the work’s inquisitive treatment of home – and what she calls the “unhome” – is at least partially connected to her vantage point as an Israeli living abroad. “This particular work definitely refers a lot to cultural baggage, or what is culture and how it is a part of you,” she says. At times, the transplanted choreographer refers to English culture with its polite pleasantries, and at other points she slips into Hebrew and alludes to other aspects of Israeli culture. Having premiered the work in England just a few weeks ago, Flexer is excited to bring The Living Room to Tel Aviv and gain a different perspective from Israeli viewers. “It will be great to see how an Israeli audience reads it,” she anticipates.

Interview with Yael Flexer: Examining Collaboration, Performance, and Culture

Deborah Friedes Galili — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:50:50 +0000

Yael Flexer. Photo by Chris Nash.

Born in Israel, Yael Flexer is a well-known fixture in London’s bustling contemporary dance scene. After directing Bedlam Dance Company for over a decade, she joined forces with her frequent collaborator Nic Sandiland to form Yael Flexer, Nic Sandiland/Dance and Digital Works. Now the partners are treating dance and art-lovers in Tel Aviv to several views of their unique creative vision. Flexer is teaching a workshop for dancers at Studio B on Wednesday, April 7 and Saturday, April 10, and her latest dance, The Living Room, will be performed at Tmuna Theater on Friday, April 9. Meanwhile, Nic Sandiland will discuss some of his works, which cross the borders of artistic disciplines, at the Kalisher Gallery on Wednesday, April 13.

I caught up with Yael Flexer via Skype prior to visit to find out more about her work. Read on to learn about her partnership with Sandiland, the pair’s outlook on performance, her movement style and choreographic aesthetic, and how the The Living Room is connected both to British and Israeli culture.

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Deborah Friedes Galili: When did you start working in London?

Yael Flexer: Oh, ages ago. Probably in 1992.

Deborah: Was that when you founded Bedlam Dance Company?

Yael: Yes, just about. I was choreographer in residence at the Place Theatre. And then, as part of that, I set up the company.

Deborah: I understand that the name of your company is different now. What is the exact name?

Yael: It was Bedlam [Dance Company] for many years. I did many projects and touring productions and various things, and then the last five or six years I’ve been working more closely with Nic Sandiland. We’ve been doing more interactive and digital works, and we’ve had a quite a few commissions for different spaces to make works specifically for them that are digitally based, and so it felt like the right time to change the company. Also, we kind of reached the age/place where it felt a bit more appropriate to just name the company after us. So people would associate the work with our names . . .

I think a company as a ‘dance company’ suggests something else, and I think we’re more artists that are making work – and it happens to sometimes be live work, and sometimes digital dance work – so I think it’s just to reflect that. So the company name is basically our names, Yael Flexer, Nic Sandiland/Dance and Digital Works, which is like an umbrella, or a production company.

Deborah: You said that especially around five or six years ago, you started working more with Nic. Had you worked with him prior to that as well? Was he part of Bedlam from the beginning?

Yael: No, he made his own work. He originally trained as an electronics engineer and got into performance in the ‘80s, and then started making his own work. His work is less dance-specific; it falls under the dance category, but really it’s a whole mixture of things from live work to installation, some of which has more of a dance element. Others have been commissioned by poetry societies or a variety of venues. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be dance. But I think his outlook is really the idea that in some way the public is partner to the choreography and it’s the encounter with virtual performers, in some cases, or between the public and virtual settings. In a sense, he choreographs the public and considers the public’s movement within the work.

Deborah: Can you tell me a bit about the work that you’re bringing here to Israel?

Yael: Yes, it’s called The Living Room. But actually, I should say that right from the start, from setting up the company – although sometimes we make commissions for other organizations or companies where we have a lot of digital [work] or projection in performance – for our own work, we like to make very separate things. So the live work is very intimate and has very little – well, has no digital element. And then we’ll make installations for galleries or public spaces that have choreography in them to varying degrees. But we like to keep them quite separate. It’s almost like two sides of the coin, working in two different mediums. I think sometimes when people hear “Dance and Digital Work,” they think of work that’s very high tech, and actually, the live work is very low tech, no tech at all. And the installation work, even though it is high tech, it doesn’t have that high tech aesthetic. It’s really about intimacy with the viewer.

Yael Flexer’s The Living Room. Photo by Chris Nash.

Anyway, the live work is called The Living Room, but it’s not really a living room. I think it’s more a rehearsal space, and in some ways we’re inviting the audience into our space. So there’s a kind of informality about the presentation. It’s a very formal work choreographically, but there’s something about allowing people into our space and having a very light or inviting essence of us all being together in one room. And there are quite a lot of jokes. Some of them are between us, and some of the jokes are between us and the audience. There’s quite a lot of banter that goes on that allows that informality.

I think this is quite different from the work you see in Israel, because you don’t really see that level of humor and that amount of text in work. Often it’s much more movement driven in Israel. And although this is also very movement-driven – there’s some very strong and physical movement sections – there’s a way in which the work is a bit more open for the audience to be part of it without any audience interaction, as in no audience participation. I think that’s kind of been a thread through all of my works, this idea of intimacy between an audience and a performer, and the idea that we witness one another so it’s not just about the audience watching us but it’s also about us in a sense watching them, and there’s a kind of equality of gaze and an equality of power between us. It’s always breaking the fourth wall, which is a term that is often used . . . it always talks about performance and opens the question of performance.

And we imagine things [in this work]. It’s called The Living Room, so we imagine furniture throughout the show. We walk around pretending to be bits of furniture. And there’s a way in which the work talks about the domestic, the very day to day, or the passage of time, and about dancing as well. In Hebrew you’d say tmunat matzav; it’s a kind of picture of us living through time. We’re slightly different ages; the youngest is 22 and the oldest is 39 – that’s Karni, the composer. We’re talking about the differences between us and our different experiences in time, so it feels like it’s more about living than about a specific living room. It’s living in a room [rather] than necessarily a living room.

Deborah: And are you performing in it as well?

Yael: Yes . . . [laughs]

Deborah: I thought I read that somewhere, so I wanted to check!

Yael: I haven’t performed I guess for five years. I’m in it, but I’m not much in it. I’m performing in about two sections, dancing. Mostly I read; I’m the reading light. And it’s kind of clear that I’m the choreographer’s voice in there.

Deborah: Is the text original text that you as a cast have developed, or is it taken from somewhere?

Yael: There are two kinds of text. The text that I read is mine. And the text that we have between us is very simple text. It’s kind of simple pleasantries, almost. It’s quite English – thank you, don’t mention it, you’re welcome – things like that which we developed with a dramaturge, Gary Stevens. He’s a live artist who makes his own work. We invited him to come along for this production, and he’s brought with him this idea of the furniture, or the imagined furniture, and the text that follows. I wouldn’t really call it text. It’s more deconstructive than that; it’s words, really.

Deborah: I’m curious – how does Nic play a role in this? Obviously, as you said, you keep these things very separate; in this case, it’s the live work, it’s the dance, as opposed to, say, having the technology layered on. So is he an active collaborator in this piece as well?

Yael: No, it’s a live work. I collaborate with him on the installation works. But we recently did the show [The Living Room] at The Place Theater in London, and we did present an installation called Orbital, which has quite a lot of similarities to the live work. So in a sense we work concurrently, we work at the same time, and one influences the other.

Orbital is an interactive work where the audience circles a projection that’s on the ground. The speed with which the viewer walks around affects the projection and causes it to move. The viewers circle the projection, and obviously that [is the] idea of orbit, or orbiting the projection. And in the piece [The Living Room] we have quite a lot of circles as a kind of feature of the furniture spinning around the room. So I think they [the works] start to influence one another, almost unconsciously.

The last production was called Doing, Done and Undone, and it was much more clearly related; when we filmed, the camera was almost like another dancer in the dance, and as people move through the installation, they make the footage go back and they affect the time and the speed in which it’s played back. There’s a sense in which the viewer is inside the performance. So there’s some works where that relationship is clearer.

We’ve really done so many installation works alongside this live work; there’s others which are more . . . really about the public. We have shop installations placed in high street or in shopping malls where the viewer affects what they see.

But I think in this case, the installation Orbital and the live work The Living Room are two that work together. You’re not going to see Orbital in Israel, but Nic is going to be giving a talk about his work at Kalisher Gallery, part of Seminar Hakibbutzim School, and he’ll talk more about various installations and the theoretical underpinnings of that.

Deborah: Can you talk a little bit about your movement style and your movement aesthetic for this work?

Yael: Generally, my aesthetic is quite functional. It’s release-based – that’s the technique, anyway. But it’s very punchy, it’s very fast – but it’s very functional. There’s a sense in which dance is not decoration. It’s somehow about form and function. So you’ll see lots of angles and lots of work with joints, breaking through the joints, collapsing towards the floor; there’s quite a lot of material that happens on the floor.

Choreographically, there’s always a kind of mathematical rule or physical rule that leads each particular dance. Although it is dancing, there is a kind of inert rule that we follow, whether it’s about dancers being in contact and that’s the idea of that particular section; whether it’s about circling and orbiting being an idea for a section; whether it’s about triggering movement, one dancer triggering movement in others, or chasing one another. We always have quite a clear logic for us as we make the choreography, so that as you view it, you can maybe not work out the logistics or the logic of it but have a sense of coherency about it. But certainly the movement style is very physical, but very functional . . .

Yael Flexer’s The Living Room. Photo by Chris Nash.

Often, dance is described as kind of pure dance or dance theater, and I would say the work aligns more with pure dance in that it’s really concerned with the mathematics of space and time rather than trying to convey a kind of drama or relationships in a dramatic sense. We’re always ourselves when we’re onstage. We’re never transformed or anything like that. So there’s no sense of transcendence or big drama. It’s very, very much in the here and now and the how we meet each other and simply being ourselves as people, as dancers. And I think the work – and certainly the text in the work – talks about that to some degree.
I think what might be interesting for an Israeli reader/viewer is that – because I’m in it and I’m the choreographer voice in it – The Living Room has quite a lot of the notion of the “unhomed.” I don’t know quite how to translate it to Hebrew, but in some way it’s a word that could only be made by an Israeli not living in Israel in that it talks about the kind of longing but also the loss of a home, in that sense of where I grew up is not where Israel is now. I think we mention this question of the “unhomed” or the not having a home a lot, and therefore we’re imagining furniture, because we ultimately don’t have a home. And there are some references [in The Living Room] that are also very English and talk about the dancers and their background, and I think that might be an interesting thing to consider, that kind of reading of the work. So it’s talking about dancing through time but also the idea of difference, or the idea of a kind of mixed cast of different places and different backgrounds and the sort of longing for a home or to be “homed”.

Deborah: That’s really interesting for me to hear. I’m from the U.S.; I came to Israel because I was intrigued by Israeli dance and I stayed here. Some of the things you talk about, I can connect to on a reverse level – you know, what I feel in terms of my relationship to the U.S., although I haven’t been gone as long. Also, a lot of people certainly ask me – and especially when I was first here and looking at work by Israeli choreographers, I wondered – if there was something that they were saying or that they were dealing with that was coming somehow specifically from their relationship to their home, just in the same way that you could look at anybody who’s American or British or whatnot and see if there’s something culturally specific that they’re considering. So it’s interesting for me to hear that you do see, somehow, a connection specifically to these issues.

Yael: This particular work definitely refers a lot to cultural baggage, or what is culture and how is it a part of you, or what is you and what isn’t you. I think it has that perspective of being nearly 40 and having children and being away from Israel and those kinds of questions. I mean, not everyone would read it in that way, at all, but I think if you want to read it in that way, there are those links. I’m really interested in performing in Israel, because it would be great to see how an Israeli audience reads it. Also in a sense, whenever you make work as an Israeli outside of Israel, you are the voice of Israel – whether you like it or not – if you reference Israel in any way. So there are things there that are interesting for an Israeli audience to view, thinking, “Okay, this is what an English audience is seeing about Israel,” or how we are represented through me, I suppose, and through Karni. So there’s a kind of element of explanation that maybe you would never use if you were only making it for a predominantly Israeli audience. I mean, I don’t know if it’s the case; I don’t think it’s that much explanation, but I think there are some words that only an Israeli audience would get and in other places it’s just Hebrew; they (an English audience) have no idea what we say.

Deborah: And based on what I saw online, did this just premiere a few weeks ago?

Yael: Yes, we just premiered two weeks ago.

Deborah: So this will be the first performance of it outside of the U.K.

Yael: Yes.

Deborah: Have you brought any of your work to Israel before?

Yael: I have but a really long time ago. I’ve been doing lots of work in Israel but mostly teaching. This is the first time we got funding from the British Council to bring the work over, just because it’s a big company.

Deborah: It’s six dancers?

Yael: It’s five dancers, me, and the cellist as well, Karni.

Deborah: Can you talk a little bit about the music?

Yael: Well, there are three composers. Really there are two, and there’s one track that we used from a different composer (Dougie Evans) that I’ve worked with. It’s Nye Parry and Karni Postel. I’ve worked with Karni on two other productions in the past, so it’s an ongoing collaboration, and I’ve worked with Nye for ten years. And I kind of forced them to get together! And it’s been great, actually.

The sound score is different from other scores in that it’s more filmic in a way, and having Karni play live just brings a kind of edge to it, and there’s an element of improvisation at play – not entirely, but she has a little more freedom to respond to us with the cello. We’re really looking at what we called the beautiful cello – this idea of a quite pleasing or harmonic sound and the more distorted, heavy, uncomfortable sound, and the work plays with those two extremes. So sometimes it’s very comfortable, and sometimes it’s very uncomfortable. And similarly, sometimes we’re very comfortable and kind of cozy with the audience, and other times we’re a little more edgy or in some senses less familiar with them and with each other, so there’s a sense of maybe more destruction or discomfort or disharmony . . . so that sense of being “unhomed” comes through in the music as well . . .

What else can I tell you? We’re doing lots of workshops when we’re in Israel. And this is what we do quite a lot; education work, mostly at the university level but sometimes with youth as well, and sometimes with adults. I think there’s an element of wanting to know our audience to some degree and that familiarity, so it kind of runs through. It’s a way of breaking the ice as well, so we’ll have some participants who have done our workshops coming to the show, and I think that’s always nice.

Yael Flexer’s The Living Room. Photo by Chris Nash.

Deborah: Is there anything else that you think is particularly important to say about the work or your company?

Yael: It’s good to mention that the dancers are a very equal part in the making of the work. It’s a very adult company, I mean, although we range from 22 to 38 or so. The way I approach it is very democratic; it’s quite a social and democratic way of conceiving and making the work. So even though I direct it and make certain decisions, obviously, it’s not hierarchical in any way. That’s really important for me. You know, we always have a really good laugh making the work, and I think you can see that when you see the work. That’s a device to get what I want out of the dancers and the kind of work I want to make. In a sense, the work represents a kind of process, and I think that might be different from other choreographers’ process. So the social part of being together and making work is just as much a part of the work, or becomes part of the work.

More Details

Yael Flexer, Nic Sandiland/Dance and Digital Works presents Flexer’s The Living Room at the Tmuna Theater in Tel Aviv at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 9. Tickets (NIS 65) are available at (03) 561-1211. Nic Sandiland talks about his work at the Kalisher Gallery on Tuesday, April 13; for more details, call (03) 516-5535.

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s “4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer”

Deborah Friedes Galili — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:05:28 +0000

Choreographers Yossi Berg and Oded Graf started collaborating in 2005, and over the years they have built a reputation for work that is supremely physical, sometimes provocative, and by turns poignant and witty. Their recent production, 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer, premiered in Germany to great acclaim and subsequently took Israel by storm; indeed, at the International Exposure festival here in December, the dance won a remarkable amount of both laughs and cheers. Now the pair is bringing the dance to San Francisco for a performance at the Herbst Theater on April 17 as part of the month-long Out in Israel LGBT festival.

San Francisco-based writer Talia Baruch caught a performance of 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer at International Exposure, and the post below is her preview, originally published on her blog.

* * *

4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer

4 Men is a dramatized exploration of masculine interaction and action. It is a fairy tale of vile and virtue.

The first 4 minutes of the opening scene bring on a monotonous sequence built into a 4-step linear routine carried out by 4 masked men.

And all the while, in the far end of the stage, there lays a magnificent deer, perched on the ground: long legs crumbled in; long neck stretched out, crowned with royal antlers. Fabled & Fabulous.

When one man breaks out of the group’s conformity and spins off, the drama slowly creeps in. But not quite yet. We’re still in for some humorous sweet fantasy.

The 4 men, the intrepid troop, are potent and powerful. They are Studs, Hunters, Greek Gods. They are boys being boys, wrestling, showing off, confessing lustful desires.

“Far, far away in a land of quiet, there were 4 men living in a huge house with a super flat screen TV…”

Soon, their ideal of the ultimate man will be re-defined. And we will be tangled in the twirling twister of their power struggle. We will gasp for air, as they strike and thrust and pound, their heart beats will set the pace for their tapping feet.

Soon, they will forcefully seize, and helplessly surrender,

betrayed, embraced,

manipulated, mutilated.

Slaughtered.

Like a deer.

Written by Talia Baruch, San Francisco based Localization Consultant and Copywriter: www.copyous.com

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