{"id":4621,"date":"2012-04-24T19:16:18","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T23:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=4621"},"modified":"2013-03-09T12:40:44","modified_gmt":"2013-03-09T16:40:44","slug":"artistic-freedom-and-political-protest-israel%e2%80%99s-batsheva-dance-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=4621","title":{"rendered":"Artistic Freedom and Political Protest: Israel\u2019s Batsheva Dance Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: This review marks the beginning of a new series dedicated to showcasing the best student writing from the Dance History class I teach at The Juilliard School. <\/span><\/p>\n

By Eve Jacobs<\/p>\n

Batsheva Dance Company\u2019s March 7 performance of Hora<\/span> started with a bang. Lots of them\u2014on cans, drums, and the pavement outside of BAM\u2019s Howard Gilman Opera House. Created in 2009 by Batsheva\u2019s artistic director Ohad Naharin, Hora<\/span> included sounds and ideas beyond the choreographer\u2019s control. Adalah-NY protestors paraded signs: \u201cBOYCOTT ISRAEL!\u201d \u201cDON\u2019T DANCE AROUND APARTEID!\u201d The anti-Israel activists distributed mock programs that read, \u201cBatsheva Dance Company: Cultural Ambassadors for Israel.\u201d\u00a0 The slogan refers to former Minister of Affairs Arye Mekel\u2019s \u201cBrand Israel,\u201d campaign, which, according to Adalah-NY, uses art to \u201cshow Israel\u2019s prettier face.\u201d Adalah-NY wants Israel to be thought of in the context of war, not art.<\/p>\n

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Despite the protests and the politics, Naharin\u2019s Hora<\/span> reflects neither. Nor does it draw on the same-named Israeli folk dance\u2014a celebratory grapevine danced at weddings. This Hora<\/span> is secular. The curtain rises on men and women in black outfits that expose their limbs. An extra-terrestrial neon green set encloses them on three sides. Ten dancers sit on a bench while one female\u2019s movement becomes beautiful in its asymmetry. Other dancers join her gradually, yet there is no distinguishable pattern, and no basis for predicting their next actions. With this improvisatory quality, unison moments come as a surprise. The experience is like listening in on a conversation of eleven people who aren\u2019t lying to each other. Hora<\/span> rambles in a good way. It is at times poignant, silly, sexual, and nebulous\u2014because that\u2019s how life is. Naharin presents no code to unlock and no riddle to deconstruct. He presents irony, oddity, and incongruous events, giving the audience a chance to laugh, think, track patterns, and enjoy.<\/p>\n

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During the performance of Hora<\/span>, the protesters outside the theater infiltrated the intended silences of the one-hour work. Poetry was interrupted by politics. Adalah-NY wants artistic containment of Israel, and Batsheva is a perfect target because of its widespread acclaim. The protesters hope to raise human rights concerns, but Naharin and his company aren\u2019t warmongers. They are doing some of the most interesting work in the contemporary dance scene. In addition to Batsheva\u2019s international tours, companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Nederlands Dans Theater perform Naharin\u2019s repertoire. Institutions like The Juilliard School and Jacob\u2019s Pillow Dance Festival offer classes in Gaga, Naharin\u2019s sensation-based movement technique. Naharin\u2019s influence on dance is immense. A group of protestors outside BAM cannot reverse that.<\/p>\n

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When you see Batsheva Dance Company, you\u2019re supporting artistic freedom. Next time the company is in town, bypass the protestors and experience their kinesthetic wonderland.<\/p>\n

Eve Jacobs is a second year student in The Juilliard School Dance Division.<\/em><\/p>\n