Ohad Naharin’s Anaphaza.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Two weeks ago, the distinctive sound of dancers drumming on enormous water cooler bottles flooded the courtyard of the Suzanne Dellal Center as the Batsheva Dance Company rehearsed Ohad Naharin’s Anaphaza.  But last week, the studios were eerily silent.  Why?  Batsheva took Anaphaza, water bottles and all, down to the Arava desert for Phaza Morgana 2009.  From October 22-25, the usually placid Timna Park overflowed with audiences and energy as Batsheva and the Idan Raichel Project put on three spectacular shows.

My preview of Phaza Morgana was originally published as “Dance in the Desert” in the Jerusalem Post.

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Dance in the Desert

This weekend, the desert won’t be so deserted.  Crowds of eager spectators are flocking to scenic Timna Park, twenty-five kilometers north of Eilat, for Isrotel Phaza Morgana 2009.  Nestled among the park’s striking rock formations at the foot of the magnificent Solomon’s Pillars, a 3,000 seat amphitheater will host three spectacular programs designed to entice the senses and enliven the spirit.

The world-renowned Batsheva Dance Company has partnered with the Israeli hotel chain Isrotel to present Phaza Morgana on five previous occasions, but this year’s festival promises to be the most sensational event yet.  As in previous seasons, the dance troupe’s large-scale production of Anaphaza forms Phaza Morgana’s centerpiece and maintains a magical appeal.

Ohad Naharin’s Anaphaza.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Choreographed for the Israel Festival in 1993 by Batsheva’s artistic director, Ohad Naharin, Anaphaza boasts pulsing rhythms, inventive movement, clever props, and eye-catching costumes which have made the work a favorite among audiences and critics alike; indeed, the dance has been seen by an astounding 350,000 people around the world and won recognition as one of the artist’s signature works.  For Phaza Morgana, over thirty dancers from the Batsheva Dance Company and the Batsheva Ensemble will bring Anaphaza to life with their unchained energy, spreading from the stage onto the rock formations themselves.

Batsheva Dance Company’s other program in the festival is Take Two. Created especially for Phaza Morgana, Take Two combines selections not only from Naharin’s rich repertory but from Sharon Eyal’s growing body of work.  Eyal’s choreography, which masterfully moves large groups of dancers through the space, is well-suited to the grand scale and soaring backdrop of the desert stage.  Her Bertolina was a success at Phaza Morgana 2007, and now excerpts of her more recent Makarova Kabisa will be featured in Take Two.  Naharin’s portion of the program will include sections from older classics such as Mabul and Naharin’s Virus as well as newer favorites like Seder and Shalosh.

Phaza Morgana in Timna Park. Photo by Liron Simon.

While dance is at the heart of Phaza Morgana, this year’s event also highlights music with a captivating concert by the Idan Raichel Project.  Based on the group’s latest hit album, the show Within My Walls will be accompanied by a sixteen-member orchestra and will include special guest appearances by internationally known soloists.  Marta Gómez contributes a Colombian flavor to Raichel’s ensemble, and Somi adds African accents to the group’s eclectic sound.  With the Idan Raichel Project’s irresistible beats and intoxicating melodies, Phaza Morgana’s crowds will leave the festival dancing.

Video: Isrotel’s promotional video of Phaza Morgana

Related posts on Batsheva Dance Company and Ohad Naharin on Dance In Israel

• “Getting to Know the Batsheva Ensemble”
• “MAX – Connecting to Ohad Naharin’s Choreography”
• “Mamootot – Challenging the Performer-Spectator Divide”
• “Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance in Israel: A Cycle Completed”
• “Ohad Naharin to Receive 2009 Scripps/ADF Award”
• “Ohad Naharin in America: Out of Focus Documentary”
• “Batsheva Dance Company Premieres Ohad Naharin’s Hora“
• “The Batsheva Ensemble on Tour at Home and Abroad”
• “Batsheva Dance Company: From Graham to Gaga”

Related links

• Batsheva Dance Company
• Phaza Morgana

Dancers at the Gaga Intensive 2009.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

I’ve been studying Gaga for the better part of two years, but the vast majority of the classes I have taken fall under the rubric of “Gaga People,” Gaga classes which are open for participants regardless of any previous dance experience.  There’s something magical about these classes.  It’s not often that you walk into a dance studio full of people ranging in age from their early 20s to their 70s, some of whom have performed professionally and some of whom simply love to move but have never taken a dance class before.

Yet there was also something special about taking Gaga classes with 120 other dancers during the Gaga Intensive this summer.  “Gaga Dancers” classes challenged me to more thoroughly explore the underlying concepts of Ohad Naharin’s movement language and enabled me to research these ideas while connecting more consciously to my body’s knowledge of ballet and modern dance forms.  I wasn’t just working from my lena; I was working my arabesque from my lena.  I was floating while doing changements, exploring biba while doing developés, and sensing my luna while doing pliés and relevés.

I’m happy to announce that starting on September 8th, Gaga classes designed specifically for dancers will be opened to the public in Tel Aviv.  Like the “Gaga People” classes, these will take place at the Suzanne Dellal Center.  If you have previous dance training, you can get your groove on at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  And I’m also happy to announce that starting soon, I’ll be the one working the door!  For more details, please see the Events calendar.

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Before open “Gaga Dancers” classes start, I wanted to share another glimpse of last month’s Gaga Intensive.  I first wrote the article below, “Learning to Speak Gaga,” for the Jerusalem Post. To read what other dancers thought about their Gaga experience, check out my previous post, “Reflections on the Gaga Intensive 2009.”

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Learning to Speak Gaga

Amidst the waves of tourists arriving in Israel this summer was one particularly diverse group, gathering, from around the globe, in Tel Aviv.  They came from the United States, Canada, Mexico, England, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Cameroon, Japan and Korea.  Like some other foreign visitors, they were eager to experience an unfamiliar culture and learn a new language. But these weren’t typical tourists and they weren’t planning to study Hebrew.  They are dancers.  And they came to immerse themselves in Gaga.

Dancers at the Gaga Intensive 2009.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company.  Year-round Gaga classes – held at Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center and other locations throughout Israel – have attracted a devoted crowd of dancers and non-dancers alike.  Meanwhile, dancers in other countries have sampled Gaga in popular master classes taught by Batsheva’s members during international tours.  But the two-week Gaga Intensive, which took place from July 19-31, provided a unique opportunity for both Israeli and foreign dancers to study Naharin’s innovative approach and learn excerpts from his captivating choreography.

Armed with brightly colored water bottles and packets of information, the 120 workshop participants were bubbling with anticipation before their first class.  Some had previous experience in Gaga and were hungry for more.  But for many, this would be their introduction to a class that would likely bare little resemblance to their years of training.

For one thing, mirrors are banished from the Gaga studio and, for another, rather than giving combinations of movement, Gaga teachers dance alongside their students, offering vivid verbal instructions that are interpreted by each person.  The emphasis is not on specific steps or positions but on sensation and availability for movement.

With an hour-and-a-half Gaga class each morning and a more experimental, two-hour long Gaga method class each afternoon, the workshop attendees soon picked up a new physical language.  Words like “biba,” “lena” and “tama” entered their vocabulary.  They discovered how to float their bones inside their flesh and move quickly while maintaining a sense of plenty of time.  Above all, they connected to a sense of pleasure and their passion to move – one of Naharin’s most frequent instructions.

Batsheva dancer Iyar Elezra demonstrates at the Gaga Intensive 2009.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

In between classes, the dancers put their newfound knowledge into practice while learning sections from Naharin’s work.  The quickening beats and intoxicating melody of an Arabic song wafted through the building as the participants practiced “Arab Line” from Naharin’s Virus; their agile bodies pierced the space in explosive improvisations, their clenched fists pounded the air and their sharp shouts reverberated throughout the studio.  During Mamootot, the dancers motivated each motion from evocative images and performed the phrase-work with a clarifying efficiency.  Then they broke this quiet calm in a section from MAX, streaking fiercely across the room with daring abandon.

At the end of these long, hot days, the dancers jammed in playful improvisation sessions which epitomized the workshop’s atmosphere of exuberant exploration.  Indeed, for many of the participants, these two weeks were a joyful, profound experience.

Recent Julliard graduate Sarah Goldstone remarked happily, “The curiosity for dance and for experiencing new ways of moving is back.”  Hannah Nieh, who also hails from New York, reflected, “My body has explored so much uncharted territory and knows that there’s the potential for more.”  And Birgitte Lundtoft of Denmark laughed, “I actually feel that you get addicted to Gaga. After a day off, the body wants to do it again!”  With this year’s workshop over, it’s just a single trip around the sun till the dancers flock back to Israel for next summer’s Gaga Intensive 2010.

Related posts on Gaga on Dance In Israel

• “Going Gaga: My Introduction to Gaga Dance Classes” (my overview of Gaga dance classes)
• “Gaga: Ohad Naharin’s Movement Language, in His Own Words” (featuring a quote by Ohad Naharin about Gaga)
• “Gaga: A Foreigner Explores Ohad Naharin’s Movement Language” (a reflection on my experience in Ohad Naharin’s Gaga classes)
• “Ohad Naharin on Gaga (Video)” (with a video of Ohad Naharin discussing some concepts from Gaga)
• “A Glimpse into the Gaga Workshop (2008)” (including a video from last year’s workshop)
• “Reflections on the Gaga Intensive 2009″ (dancers share their memories from this year’s workshop)

Related posts on Batsheva Dance Company and Ohad Naharin on Dance In Israel

• “Getting to Know the Batsheva Ensemble”
• “MAX – Connecting to Ohad Naharin’s Choreography”
• “Mamootot – Challenging the Performer-Spectator Divide”
• “Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance in Israel: A Cycle Completed”
• “Ohad Naharin to Receive 2009 Scripps/ADF Award”
• “Ohad Naharin in America: Out of Focus Documentary”
• “Batsheva Dance Company Premieres Ohad Naharin’s Hora“
• “The Batsheva Ensemble on Tour at Home and Abroad”

Related links

• Batsheva Dance Company
• Gaga website (more to come soon!)