I care about Naharin, his choreography and his ideas because I feel like not only is he a forerunner in the modern dance scene but he brings something unique to the saturated modern dance world. His Jewish and Israeli culture, the back injury that changed his life and evolved into Gaga Technique, his desire for intelligent and emotionally connected dancers, and above all, the passion that he feels for dance. This is what gives his work meaning for me; that it is so obvious from his interviews that he is in love with dance. Then, his intellectuality and culture easily falls into choreography but it is passion that is the deriving force underneath his success. His work has inspired me not only in dance but opened up my eyes to the different types and kinds of abstract and popular music that can be incorporated into a dance.
I was reminded of a Bill T. Jones quote in the recent reading we had, where Jones mentioned the "Ectasy of performing" - the passion the drives Naharin is evident in other successful choreographers. The legacy that Naharin leaves behind is one of new movement quality, passion, and the motivation for choreographers to start looking for "smart" dancers. Naharin is an indvidual in the sense he doesn't look to politics or world events for inspiration, but I also think this somehow connects him back to modern pioneers like Isadora Duncan. The origin of their creativity comes from an intrinsnic sense of artistry. I also admire that Naharin's down-to-earthness is relatable not only emotionally but physically, (see :47, 1:45 below)
Naharin wants to share his passion with other people, elderly, children, dancers, non-dancers and this very "human" and relatable quality of his is what I believe should and will get passed into other generations.
