Batsheva Dance Company at the Sydney Festival 2007

11 December 2006

Proventus is a long-term supporter of the Batsheva Dance Company, one of the foremost contemporary dance companies in the world.

Telophaza, by Ohad Naharin
6-10 January 2007

The 2007 Sydney Festival bursts into life with Telophaza, a dazzling large-scale work for 40 dancers by the renowned Batsheva Dance Company, making its Sydney debut.

Joyful, celebratory and rich in spectacle, Telophaza showcases Batsheva and Artistic Director Ohad Naharin at the height of their creative powers. The stage is filled with dancers while four large screens simultaneously amplify their bodies and faces in extreme close-up.

This opening event is an epic celebration of unity, beauty, passion, discipline, doubt and forgiveness. Telophaza integrates exhilarating movement with evocative sound and video, giving the audience both a massive spectacle and a profound experience of our shared humanity. Humorous and joyful, at once intimate and grand, it is a sophisticated, exhuberant work.

 

Mamootot, by Ohad Naharin
12-15 January 2007

Mamootot ('Mammoth' in Hebrew) is an intimate piece performed in-the-round by nine dancers from Batsheva's senior ensemble. A work of arresting beauty and wonder, it is stripped to the essentials of set, lighting and costumes. At times, the dancers interact with audience members, holding hands, sitting amidst them, engaging in eye-contact, before they return to their own quiet formations exploring themes of repetition, solidarity and solitude.

On the surface, Mamootot appears to be a straight forward piece, but its simplicity belies a remarkable depth of intention and emotional honesty that resonates with audiences at a fundamental level.

 

Kamuyot, by Ohad Naharin
13-15 January 2007

For the final part of their Sydney Festival residency, Batsheva Dance Company's junior company, Batsheva Ensemble, present Kamuyot, a work performed by teenagers for teenagers.

Inspired by Mamootot, Kamuyot explores the relationship between performers and audience, skilfully stretching the dimensions of time and space. The atmosphere is magical, suspenseful and intimate, where the elaborately costumed dancers present virtuosity, humour and generosity against a soundtrack ranging from eclectic Japanese pop and reggae to TV show themes.

Kamuyot is meant for audiences that are not necessarily familiar with contemporary dance. Ohad Naharin offers the audience the opportunity to discover new perspectives within their own individual experience.

Image info:
Photographer - Gadi Dagon

Related links:
Sydney Festival 2008

Read more:
Proventus' engagement in the Batsheva Dance Company