Third Post : Bigger Picture

 I was surprised to find out Naharin does wish to share his political, industrial or technological views in his choreography. An Israeli native, Naharin could have much to say about the two-state situation happening in Israel currently, or the discrimination and prejudice Jews face. However, in an interview via youtube seen here , Naharin not only seems rather bored with the political topic but actually doesn't seem to want to give his opinion. In an interview with an Australian newspaper, Naharin admitted that he just isn't passionate enough about politics to put it into his art.  "All art comes from passion...For me, it would be very boring to create a piece directly commenting on political situations. But I'm happy to talk about it. People in Israel know my views." The sentiment of Naharin's passion and love for dance and not to make controversial statements has been repeated throughout several interviews. Naharin understands the line between choreographing as a public statement and choreographing for the sheer passion of dance. "There’s no such thing as an ‘Israeli’ movement,” Naharin said in The Jewish Daily, “There is a fine line between nationalistic feelings and pride. Pride can be a very dangerous thing. I care about loving to dance, not being proud to dance.”

Personally, I thought it was refreshing in a world where many choreographers are full of themselves when I found an interview with Naharin being not only humble but also comical about his personal political views, "I don't think the Israeli Government would want me to be seen as any kind of spokesman."

So, what are Naharin's works about if he is not trying to make any outspoken statements?

Besides a continual reconstruction of his choreography over time, many of Naharin's works with Batsheva include Gaga Technique's themes of passion, emotion, imagery, and physicality. While Naharin may not want to make any religious statements with his work, "Minus 16" involved a traditional Hebrew song from Passover. "Minus 16" also touched on Hebrew tradition and the history of Judaism in regards to ritual and communities. However, when "Minus 16" was set on Alvin Ailey members in New York, Alvin Ailey dancer Alicia Graf Mack said that Ohad purposely did not translate the Hebrew or give a sense of story when they set the work. “They [Ohad] emphasized the strength of the movement and the power of dancing as a group," said Mack. "But for me, the piece is about struggle, and coming out of a struggle stronger and smarter. Knowing the history and mission of Ailey, it feels especially relevant.” This is a clear example of the success of Naharin's goals: To make the passion of dance accessible to everyone. Although Naharin created "Minus 16" with the history of Judaism in mind, Mack was able to apply the passion and intensity she felt for the piece to her own life. 

How did Naharin develop his views on choreography then?

Recruited into dance by Martha Graham, Naharin seems to adopted some of her philosophies regarding dance, most notably Graham's quote, "Movement never lies." Gaga Technique's connectivity between mind and body seem to represent this quote well. Like Graham who developed a techinique that was unfamiliar to dance audiences, Naharin developed the Gaga Technique, which I think has the strength to become as notable as the Graham Technique. Naharin has the creativity and originality to make the Gaga Technique a codified dance form. Here is a video of Naharin explaining some of the terms his uses in Gaga (and is really interesting!!) : http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/34635379#pm_cmp=vid_OEV_P_P . Lastly, like Graham who was one of the first modern choreographers to start experimenting with other artists for collaborations musically, Naharin is famously known for incorporating many mixes of composers into his choreography. Naharin jumps from the Beach Boys to traditional Hebrew verses.

Below is a clip from "Minus 16" - the second half of the video (once you hear the audience laughing) is the portion where (in this case- NDT) company members bring some of the audience on stage to "dance" with them. Another example of Naharin's desire to spread the love and passion for dance to everyone!

Work Cited

Kussell, Stacey Menchel . "'Minus 16' is a Plus for Ailey." The Jewish Daily. FORWARD, 2011. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://forward.com/articles/147748/minus--is-plus-for-ailey/?p=all>.

Herschthal, Eric. "The Choreography That Binds." Teh JEwish Week. The Jewish Week Inc., 2011. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/dance/choreography_binds>.

Verghis, Sharon. "The Hot Seat: Ohad Naharin, choreographer ." The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media, 25 Nov 2006. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/the-hot-seat-ohad-naharin-choreographer/2006/11/23/1163871531366.html?page=3>.

 "The Modern Dancers: Martha Graham." Pitt. edu. . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html>

shivers

I told myself I wouldn't just upload a bunch of videos but this one gave me shivers and by obligation I was forced to put this up. Enjoy!

'Minus 16'

This is a shout out to our very own Brenna Marlin who wanted to know a bit more about Ohad’s work “Minus 16.” What better way to explain the movement but in a YouTube clip so you can see it yourself.  Words can only say so much. I was actually going to put it up a bit later, because like you said it breaks up the text nicely, but now is as good a time as ever. Especially when we have requests for it! Here is a bit more background on the piece itself.  Its world premiere was on the Nederlands Dans Theater II in 1999 (before his wife’s passing).  It has since been performed by many other companies as well, but it was with the Ailey’s premiere of it that it became something more; something special.  He wanted all of their performances to be dedicated to her. This time the work itself is actually composed of excerpts from 4 other of his previous works: Mabul, Anaphaza, Zachacha, and Echad Ma Yodea. There is a duet (which is a section in the video clip) that Ohad made sure was in this setting of Minus 16.  It had been in a couple others including the first setting on the Nederland Dans Theater II.  He wanted it specifically in this reconstruction because, Ohad said, “It seems right, especially because we’re doing it for Mari (Herschthal).” If you watch the video clip and see the duet I think you will see why he said that. *note: we also put our citations at the bottom of each post feel free to check them out!*

Kussell, Stacey. "'Minus 16' Is Plus for Ailey." The Jewish Daily Forward. Forward Association, Inc., 13/12/2011. Web. 8 Mar 2012. http://forward.com/articles/147748/?p=all.



Herschthal, Eric. "The Choreography That Binds." Teh JEwish Week. The Jewish Week Inc., 06/12/2011. Web. 8 Mar 2012. http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/dance/choreography_binds.

~T

MAX

Here is a clip of MAX. A work created by Naharin and also composed under the alias Maxim Waratt.  It is interesting to see how the music and movement support eachother. Very cool check it out!

Professional Lineage-influences

Ohad may have started late in the game at age 22 but the teachers who taught him the people he has worked with and continues to work with is very rich.  His first dance experience was with the Batsheva Dance Company where guest artist Martha Graham saw him there and asked him to come back to New York with her to perform her work “Jacob’s Dream.” While he was working with Martha he also studied at Julliard and the School of American Ballet.  Two noteworthy teachers were Maggie Black and David Howard who helped him refine his technique. Black was a ballet teacher who had an anatomical approach to the technique, as did Howard whose approach reduced tension and resulting injuries. You can see the influence in the Gaga technique Ohad has formed. 

After he left Graham in 1976 he went to Brussels to work with the Maurice Bejart’s ballet company. Though he acknowledges the experiences with Graham and Bejart and the knowledge he gained from them he describes them by being “stations in [his] career…They didn’t influence me like Merce Cunningham, Billy Forsythe, or Pina Bausch (Perron)." David Gordon was another who influenced him.  Gordon choreographed a solo on him, Short Order (1983), while he was in New York.  Ohad felt it was a useful step in his learning process to understand the relationship of a body in space the way Gordon taught it in his “multidimensional” movement style. 

After his time with the Maurice Bejart ballet company he worked with the Bat-Dor dance company in Irael (founded by Rothschild) until his return to New York in 1980. It was during his work in 1980 that he worked and collaborated with his wife Mari Kajiwara, a former Ailey dancer, to create his own company.  He continued his work with his company developing his technique until 1990 when he became Artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company. 

It was while he was Artistic Director he worked with many other companies setting works.  Even though he was setting previously made works he believes strongly in the collaborative process between himself and his dancers, so he adapted works according to the dancers. Some of these guest residencies were at the Nederlands Dans Theatre, Ballet Frankfurt, Lyon Opera Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza (Spain), Culberg Ballet (Sweeden), Finish National Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, Bale da Cidade de Sao Poulo, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (New York), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Los Grand Ballets Canadiens de Montreal. One of his most recent residencies was with the Ailey Company in setting “Minus 16.” The piece itself was dedicated to his late wife Kajiwara, and so working with the Ailey Company was especially fitting. It premiered on December 9, 2011.

Besides working with other dancers Ohad, given his musical background, has been known to collaborate with musicians as well.  Some of the more noteworth names include Israeli rock group The Tractor’s Revenge (for Kyr, 1990), Avi Belleli and Dan Makov (for Anaphaza, 1993), and Ivri Lider (for Z/na, 1995). Naharin has even composed music for MAX (2007) under the alias Maxim Waratt, and has edited and mixed soundtracks for Mamooto (2003) and Hora (2009).

works cited

Perron, Wendy. "Truth in Movement: Ohad Naharin talks about his choreography, his world view, and why the mirror always lies.." The Free Library. Dance Magazine, Inc., 2006. Web. 28 Feb 2012. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Truth in movement: Ohad Naharin talks about his choreography, his...-a0152433179.

Zeller, Jessica. Teaching through Time: Tracing Ballet's Pedagogical Lineage in the Work of Maggie Black. Taylor &Francis Group,LLC, 2009. 57.

. "The Artistic Staff." Illinois Ballet. Illinois Ballet, n.d. Web. 28 Feb 2012. http://www.brighthope.net/artisticstaff.htm.

Kussell, Stacey. "'Minus 16' Is Plus for Ailey." The Jewish Daily Forwad. Forward Association,Inc., 13/12/2011. Web. 28 Feb 2012. http://www.forward.com/articles/147748/?p=all.

Johnstone, Nick. "Ohad Naharin: The maverick lord of Israeli dance." The JC.com. N.p., 17/10/2008. Web. 21 Feb 2012. http://www.thejc.com/arts/theatre/6969/ohad-naharin-the-maverick-lord-israeli-dance.
 "Ohad Naharin." Batsheva Dance Company. Suzanne Dellal Center, n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2012.     http://www.batsheva.co.il/en/Ohad.aspx  

Gaga Technique : Dancer's Perspective

"They [the dancers] are different from when they arrived. Today is so different, different skin, different flesh, different bones, different way of thinking. Different experience of sensation and connecting themselves to their body and movement, whatever they do..."

Bio

Ohad Naharin

Ohad Naharin is a Contemporary Choreographer who has been making a name for himself in the dance world since he first began dancing in 1974. He was born on Kibbutz Mizra in 1952.  His father was a doctor in psychology and a retired actor; his mother a dance teacher. Both supported him as he worked in his creative mind and body: writing, music, painting, gymnastics, folk dancing, and more. “I used to dream dances.  I started to choreograph because I just wanted to dance more. It points to something that I enjoy doing, which is making up things, whether it’s writing, painting, music.” (Lewis) It was the strength of his imagination and love of movement that carried through to his adulthood which gave him inspiration and a desire to “distort reality in order to create [his] own world.” (Boccadoro) 

He began training with the Batsheva Dance Company in 1974 after military service in the Israeli army. It was in the Dance Company when Martha Graham, a guest choreographer, asked him to come back with her to New York.  In 1975 he left for the United States where he studied at the Graham School, the School of American Ballet, and Julliard. He left in 1976 to perform with Maurice Bejart’s Balle du XXe Siecle in Brussels, and then with Israels Bat-Dor Dance Company.  It wasn’t until 1980 that he returned to New York to establish his own company the Ohad Naharin Dance Company with his wife Mari Kajiwara. He married Mari, a former Alvin Ailey dancer in 1978 who later died in 2001 at age 50 of cancer.

In 1990 Naharin returned to his roots at the Batsheva Dance Company where he became Artistic Director (not for the years 2003-2004, only House Choreographer). He has choreographed over 20 works for the company exploring his Gaga technique, refining it as he continues to learn and discover.  He began to develop this technique after a severe back injury left him with permanent nerve and spine damage.  Naharin was forced to develop a form of movement which was more efficient and used different muscles.  The word Gaga itself means hit in Hebrew and despite its name the technique teaches a dancer how to unblock the body.

While being working with the Batsheva Dance Company he has also done guest residencies at many other prominent dance companies.  They are the Nederlands Dans Theatre, Ballet Frankfurt, Lyon Opera Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza (Spain), Culberg Ballet (Sweeden), Finish National Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, Bale da Cidade de Sao Poulo, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (New York), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Los Grand Ballets Canadiens de Montreal.  Needless to say he is a very busy man, and one who will continue to be. I for one look forward to seeing what other discoveries he will make.

It was during his work in 2007 with the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in New York that Tomer Heymann created a documentary “Out of Focus” on Naharin’s rehearsal process.  Here is a clip of the documentary…
"Out of Focus" documentary clip

~Tasha

Works Cited:

Boccadoro, Patricia. "Batsheva Dance Company at the Theatre de Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines: ." Dance: Interviews . Culturekiosque Publications Ltd, 2004. Web. 21 Feb 2012. http://www.culturekiosque.com/dance/inter/batsheva.html.

Goodwin, Joy. "Free Your Mind, and Your Spine Will Follow." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 03/06/2007. Web. 21 Feb 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/arts/dance/03joy.html?sq=Ohad Naharin&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=4&adxnnlx=1329873970-YNAd04r7eWuDM/BUZnYHRQ.

. "Ohad Naharin." Batsheva Dance Company. Suzanne Dellal Center, n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2012.     http://www.batsheva.co.il/en/Ohad.aspx     

Johnstone, Nick. "Ohad Naharin: The maverick lord of Israeli dance." The JC.com. N.p., 17/10/2008. Web. 21 Feb 2012. http://www.thejc.com/arts/theatre/6969/ohad-naharin-the-maverick-lord-israeli-dance.

Lewis, Kristin. "The Pleasure of Motion – Ohad Naharin." Movmnt. E-MAPROD Inc., 2007. Web. 21    Feb 2012.

                http://www.movmnt.com/ohad-naharin_00196.html.