Movement is often unthinking, natural ““ an automatic part
of life. But for Israeli dance troupe Batsheva, movement has become
an art.
In a UCLA Live event this weekend, the Batsheva Dance Company
will be performing “Three,” choreographed by
world-renowned artistic director Ohad Naharin in Royce Hall.
Batsheva Dance Company, founded in 1964 by Martha Graham and
Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild, has been a global influence on
creative liberty. Naharin has helped the dance troupe become one of
the world’s trendsetters.
“Through movement, I can achieve things ““ the love
of composition, the different textures, and communication with my
dancers,” Naharin said.
“(I give) the keys to be at their best and use their
explosive power, sensuality, madness, weakness and generosity; all
the things that must be part of the creative process.”
What specifically gives Batsheva its unprecedented movements is
Gaga ““ Naharin’s own training in movement.
“We try to maximize our ability by getting in touch with
our atrophy that everyone has in their body, and go beyond our
familiar limits that we find and recognize our movement habits and
acquire new ones,” said Naharin. “There are
limitations, but you can always push the borders.”
This training is the launching pad for the experience that
Naharin and Batsheva hope for.
It has much to do with provoking imagination and the
audience’s ability to open its mind to the organics of dance
and the many messages being shared.
“I think experiencing not just my work but someone
(else’s) work has to do with the power of imagination and the
force of creativity and the source of joy,” said Naharin.
“I hope that (the audience) engages in a place where their
vocabulary is a lot smaller than their imagination so I can
communicate (to them) that place where there is a sense of vast
possibilities.”
“Three,” a one hour and ten minute piece, contains
three separate sections: “Bellus,” which means beauty,
“Humus,” which translates to Earth, and
“Secus,” which means both “this” and
“not this” in Hebrew.
“Each work has its own soul,” Naharin said.
“Each work can be on its own, but somehow they’re
together because they were created for the same people in my
company and in the same period of my life.”
The first section, “Bellus,” is choreographed for
ten dancers to Glenn Gould’s recording of Bach’s
Goldberg Variations.
It explores the stillness and bareness found between the notes,
and in that silence is where the dancers’ movements and
passion for dance becomes present.
“It explores the efficiency of movement, it explores
exaggeration, it explores the connection between effort and
pleasure,” Naharin said. “There is always a
human-conscious kind of value at every moment.”
To that end, the section explores a palpable, physical
representation of humor.
“It’s the story about the ability to laugh at
ourselves, but it’s not like joking or joke-telling,”
Naharin said. “(It’s) the kind of laugh that comes out
from being tickled.”
“Humus,” the second section, is exclusively
performed by the women of the company. Its minimalist music by
Brian Eno establishes the uniformity of the segment.
The performance’s multiple structured segments and the
lack of percussions responds to the freeness of movement in the
first section.
The last section, “Secus,” includes all members of
the company.
Boundaries of passion, force and speed are what defines this
section. But these elements cannot truly be expressed without its
eclectic musical accompaniment.
The array of songs, including works by The Beach Boys and Chari
Chari, gives the last section its unique flavor.
With so many moods and actions, Batsheva’s performance is
sure to offer something for everyone ““ if not the same
thing.
“What I like most about watching dance is the passion and
how each performance can carry a different meaning for each
person,” said second-year business economics student
Jacqueline Jung. “From what I’ve seen from Batsheva, I
believe that they epitomize true passion and uniqueness with their
surprising style and collection of music.”