DANCE MAGAZINE AWARD 2009 FOR OHAD NAHARIN
HORA
MAX
BERTOLINA
TELOPHAZA
THREE
MAMOTOOT
DECA DANCE
NAHARIN'S VIRUS

BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY

DANCE MAGAZINE AWARD 2009 FOR OHAD NAHARIN

THE 2009 DANCE MAGAZINE AWARDS
The 57-year-old Naharin has a knack for connecting people to pleasure, whether they are taking classes in Gaga—his movement language—or drinking in the rich sights and sounds of his choreographic works. The artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva dance Company has always had a passion for movement himself, but it was not until after his compulsory military service that Naharin trained seriously in modern dance. He began his training with Batsheva. He soon became the troupe’s newest member and was quickly plucked from the ranks by Martha Graham to dance Esau in her 1974 Jacob’s Dream.

Fueled by his extraordinary natural aptitude, Naharin’s dance career took off. Graham invited him to join her company in New York, where he also studied at the Juilliard School. After performing abroad with Maurice Béjart’s company and Israel’s Bat-Dor Dance Company, Naharin returned to New York and turned his creative energies towards choreography. In 1980, he started the Ohad Naharin Dance Company, pouring his signature fluidity and dynamic sensitivity into his movement invention. Naharin’s blossoming talents as a dancemaker garnered him commissions from companies including Batsheva and the Kibbutz Contem­porary Dance Company, and in 1987, Jirí Kylián appointed him as guest choreographer for the Nederlands Dans Theater.

An invitation to lead the Batsheva Dance Company lured Naharin back to his native country in 1990. Steered by his artistic vision and propelled by his choreography, Israel’s leading dance troupe embarked on a bold new direction and soared into the top tier of international companies.

Intriguing provocations abound in Naharin’s works for Batsheva, from the unconventional seating arrangement for Mamootot to the audacious use of accumulations in both MAX and “Ehad Mi Yodea,” from Anaphaza, in which the dancers systematically shed their clothes to the driving chant of a traditional Passover song. Featuring a section in which performers pull audience members onto the stage, Zachacha proves that his choreography can be as crowd-pleasing as it is rule-breaking. Yet Naharin’s repertory also probes the darker side of the human situation, conjuring up complex emotions with disturbing images.

Regardless of their tone, all of Naharin’s works are colored by a seemingly endless palette of vibrantly textured movement, which stretches from razor sharp to silky smooth with everything in between. It is Gaga, with its emphasis on sensation and availability for movement, which enables Batsheva’s dancers to bring such captivating qualities to their performances. Not only has Naharin implemented this innovative system in the company’s training, but he has opened public classes, which draw dancers and nondancers alike.

During the last two decades, Naharin’s pioneering approach and unforgettable choreography injected a catalyzing, invigorating force into Israel’s rising dance scene. Meanwhile, the choreographer’s influence can be felt abroad, where there is a growing clamor for Gaga classes and an insatiable appetite for his creations. Popular companies, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, have performed Naharin’s work to rave reviews, and when Batsheva is on tour, it regularly packs the house with enthusiastic audiences. It seems the world has gone gaga for Naharin.
Deborah Friedes Galili, Dance Magazine Nov 2009

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