Sharon Eyal’s “Bill” is Back at Batsheva Dance Company
June 11, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
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 ...
A Peek into Nimrod Freed’s Choreography
June 6, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
Video: Nimrod Freed’s Peep Dance
This article was initially published as “Close Encounters Series: Nimrod Freed” on The Winger in 2008, prior to a performance of his Peep Dance at Central Park SummerStage in New York.
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Nimrod Freed. Photo by Eyal Landesman.
Close Encounters Series: Nimrod Freed
My initial encounter with Nimrod Freed was in autumn 2007 via e-mail. I first contacted him because he was on the faculty of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, my host institution here in Israel during my Fulbright grant. We met, though, at a different college with a focus on teacher training: Seminar ...
Vertigo Dance Company: A Conversation with Choreographer Noa Wertheim
May 25, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
Adi Sha’al and Noa Wertheim of Vertigo Dance Company. Photo by Eyal Landesman.
(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen in 2008. You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)
As I have traveled through Israel’s dance circles, I have run into Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al many times: at Vertigo Dance Company’s concerts at the Suzanne Dellal Center, at contact jams, and at a performance of Noa’s work on students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. With their company, their ...
Batsheva Dance Company Premieres Sharon Eyal’s “Bill”
May 7, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
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 ...
Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s “Kamuyot”
April 21, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
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.”
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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 ...
Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s “4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer”
March 25, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
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 ...
Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s “Kyr/Z/na”
March 15, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
Video: Trailer for Kyr/Z/na
It’s been a particularly fascinating season at Batsheva. As the company marks the 20th anniversary of Ohad Naharin’s arrival as artistic director, it has placed a wealth of choreographic treasures onstage for review at the Suzanne Dellal Center: Hora (2009), Project 5 (2008), Three (2005), Mamootot (2003), and Kamuyot (2003).
This programming has promoted what Naharin has discussed in several press conferences: an opportunity for the choreographer, dancers, and audience members alike to revisit the choreography. Project 5, itself a compilation of excerpts stretching from 1985’s Black Milk to 2008’s B/olero and originally danced by five women, was ...
Suzanne Dellal Center Wins the Israel Prize in Dance
March 6, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
On my first full day in Israel nearly two and a half years ago, I made a pilgrimage to the Suzanne Dellal Center. Although I didn’t yet grasp the scope of the complex’s activities, I had heard that this was the epicenter of the Israeli contemporary dance scene, and that was enough to make me wander through the maze of Neve Tzedek’s streets until I finally found the right spot.
Throughout my first year of research, as I attended scores of performances and classes at Suzanne Dellal, my admiration and appreciation of the center only grew. And now, as I visit ...
Jasmin Vardimon Returns to Israel with “Yesterday”
March 2, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
Video: Jasmin Vardimon’s Yesterday
Jasmin Vardimon started her promising dance career right here in Israel, performing with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company while venturing into choreography. In 1995, she won the “On the Way to London” competition for young choreographers, which was sponsored by the Suzanne Dellal Center and the British Council – and shortly afterwards, she found herself headed to Europe and, indeed, on the way to London. There, in 1997, she burst onto the British dance scene with her company, originally titled Zbang and now known as the Jasmin Vardimon Company (JVC).
By all accounts, Vardimon has achieved an extraordinary ...
Batsheva Dance Company: Ohad Naharin’s “Shalosh” (“Three”)
February 15, 2010 · Posted by Dance In Israel ·
Video: Batsheva Dance Company in Ohad Naharin’s Three
Five years after its premiere, Ohad Naharin’s Shalosh (Three) still lures audiences to the Suzanne Dellal Center – and judging by the enthusiastic curtain calls last Saturday night, the work continues to captivate crowds. My preview of this run of Three was originally published in the Jerusalem Post as “Lucky Number ‘Three.’”
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Three by Ohad Naharin. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
Addressing a small crowd in the Batsheva Dance Company’s studios during an open rehearsal of Three, artistic director and choreographer Ohad Naharin mused that we frequently revisit books, movies, and music. So ...
