A Dance Critic·S 95
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I July, he instigatedת . program, there was hardly any mention of it . inventing original titles Probably because a few years after its founding another series of dance perfonnances by and great initial successes, de Rothschild ( mainly) up-and-coming choreographers, which severed her ties with Batsheva and founded (in he called "Hot Dance ". 1967) her "second company," Ba1-Dor, to with a Rina Schenfeld, the first lady of the older , חprovide her protege, Jeannette Ordma company she could run and dance with . generation of dancef5, is always busy doing new things. Apart from presenting her already - ted facts and events are known works such as "Hemia" and the dreamy ח AI I these we ll-documc tionable in the Bat-Dor context. Hence , " An Angel Comes at Night," her dancers ח A DANCE unme hat emerged at the gala premiered a work, "Bang on a Can," that ן the only new true fact f ve duels created by the dancel'sו b m "in consists ofס CRITIC·S was that Batsheva de Rothschild was o music byן London, the year WOI'ld War 1 began;' i.c ,. themselves under her supervision 19 14, which was, until now, a well -kept secret . several composers. Her inf1uence on Ihem is apparenlly so strong that the dueLs looked like . variations or remakes of her own works ,ח Batsheva de Roth schild is a remarkable woma a true pioneer in the tradition of her family, who er רot only in the field of modern Anat Danieli and her company presenled I ת was instrumental dance in Israel and in Un ited States and of beautifuJ, slow and poetic "October," a work one s" is an ח watch more Ihan once. Her "Poppi חca ח o study, bu( also i ן helping Israe Ji dancers fostering scientifi c research and encouraging entertaining rendition of the famous airbome folk-arts . nanny and her umbrel.la . BY GIORA MANOR What a pity this Diaghilev-like power behind Michal Natan is interested in Spanish dance and y one attracted to f1amenco. 8uI her ו THARP!" - AS AMERICAN the scenes was honoured by a rather weak isn't the on" port<tnt ר of hall'-Iruths, a company of femal e dancers mi sses an in וו AS MACDONALD'S program of dances, an event fu is very demanding style and she has ן faux-pas if there ever was one . aspect of tl Twyla was here and, for once, we watched an yet to free herself from the deadening uni sono American dance company that dances. she ernploys, which is diarnetricall y opposed 10 MOVEMENTS AND TEARS the indi vidualistic, even egocenlric aesthetics of . cing ן Pina Bausch always tells how she grew up under flamenco dal semble - one of the li veliest dance ח the tin table at the bar of her parents' pub. Twyla Batsheva E celebrated ר Tharp grew up in her parents' drive-in cinema . groups in Israel - p" emiered works by Angelin The "Venigo" group from Jerusalen Perhaps this explains some of her movement Preljokaj , the Canadian choreographer Lynda its fifth binhday as an independen l group. IL again takes ו quality, which is "show-bussinessy" in a Goudreau, Barak Marshall and Lara Barsacq. I showed its "Bordomino," a dance piece Iha o see any reason for re-staging Barsacq's place in a ni ght-c lub, wh.ich is a metaphor for the ן dly way. Her show, succinctly fail ח pleasant user-fri e and aptly entitled "THARP!" was a pleasure rather obscure "Vain Ode", first performed two world. IL is an excellenl work, ful.1 of atmosphere page 14 the,'c is a חס ) . s of saving and brilliant dancing חto see . seasons ago, except as a mea ectricity, as one could hardly see the dancers . ponrait of "Venigo" and its choreographers, Adi ן e ( air stage Sha'al and Noa Wenheim, in Hebrew - ח cers flitted over the huge ope ח Her da at Caesarea - and really moved. It was fresh but , 8ut Preljokaj's "Larmes Blanches" (White servative Tears) is wonderful. At first, the dancers, clad in ח at the same time, traditional and cO t A PRISONER ח cing works of latler-day white, "romantic" sl1irts and black pants, preseח compared to the non-da y correct , the movement elements that constitute thc OFTHE MOUSE וו choreographers who try to be politica ct , movement-vocabulary ofthe piece to music byחbut often are choreographically very inco e ourish ןי psition (which was a Usually one assumes that parents shouldס g old and Bach. The symrnetrical eXח indeed. (Am I simply becomi : the end, resolved their infants. In Israeli dance, it is the opposite חder)? bit too long for my taste) is, iח conservative, 1 wO ances for young audiences finance (at חructure of rare perfo n ן in a cannon-like chromatic s beauty. Preljokaj's usual theatrical style has least partially) the companies' adult HOMAGE TO THE become formal and musical, somewhat appearances. Batsheva has its Ensemble for that BARONNESS reminding one of Kylian's "S ix Gennan Dances ". purpose, the Kibbutz Company has its "Young Company;" the other groups, large and small , all . ows in schools ןd premiere of " 100 do moming sl ן For no apparent reason, the Bat·Dor company Lynda Gauderau's wor by each dancer in tum ח arranged a festive performance at the Mishkan Movements" bega g one ' Vertigo' decided it was time for them 10 increase ח Tel-Aviv in homage 10 taking the centre of the stage and reveali חOmanuiot Habamah i come by creating a special show for חBatsheva de Rothschild, its founder and limb of his or her body. This was whetting ou r thei r i benefactor. UndoubtedJy, de Rothschild is a very appetite, but stopped short of real revelation , children. The result is very good indeed. "Power idea by Ad i Sha'al, who also ח a ח ס g do with such "banal" body pans as ann , Dance" based ח the annals of modem dance maki ח important figure i structed directed, is a piece about a IO-year old computer ח in Israel and she surely deserves being belly or shoulder. This is a well-co oured. But the gJittering gathering at the piece and Gaudreau is a talented choreographer freak. The slage set consists of a huge cOJnputerח hO g watched . made of inf1atab le plastic, which literally ו its worthy of beil ח opera hall had something Orwellian i .off ן exts coll apses at Ihc point where the power is cu ן atmosphere. The glossy program and the d Danni , a ח the actress Hanna Maron had to speak as Its mouse is a central character a mistress of ceremonies were full of "double - SIZZLING HOT SUMMER computer freak, the kid gets involved in dance , and, of course, with the four Power ו speak." Undoubtedly, the baroness' most DANCE even balle important contribution to the art of dance in Rangers who emerge live from Ihe computer Israel is the founding in 1964 of Batsheva, lhe Yair Vardi, the head of the Suzanne Della) screen. (Fusing screen and live actors was thc dance company thal slill beaf5 her name. In the Dance Center in Tel-Avi v, has a penchant for invention of the Czech Latema Magica in the 95 1960's, but that doesn't detract from Sha'al's lt seemed improbable that just a few days aftel · Another interesting company from a distant l the country was the Australian ensemble called> ך g to Chil ח clever use of thi s technique. the handing over of Hong KO City Contcmporary Dance Company would "Expressions." This compact, young company qucrcd from Brisbane was founded by Maggi Sictsma ךive. But they came and cOI ןך The text was writtcn by Halnutal Ben-Ze'ev, actually a .ce with their special blending of in 1985 ךchoreography is by Noa Wertheim. 11 is an the audiel altogether enjoyab1e show. "Western" modem dance and indigenous Chinese thealrical traditions . " Expressions" started their program with a fascinating work by Natalie Weir based on the ALL THE WORLD (The excell ent CCDC of Hong Kong was dance photos ot· Lois Greenfeld, the American COMES TO KARMIEL already di scussed in detail in issue nr. 5 of the photographer who charges her dal1ce pictures Israel Dance Quarterly.) with unusual movement, defying gravity , ח Aparl from lhe many folk dance groups, the making the camera move with the dancers. As i cers "f1y" in a set ח Y Their program in Karmiel included a work her photos, the Aust ralian da ח festiva] management tries 10 persuade as ma d put on garments in a ח Israeli artistic dance cOlnpanies as possible to prepared specially for the take-over frame, take off a bring new works to be premiered at Kanniel . festivities that took place in Hong Kong one whirlwind of movement . ce week before they arrived in Israel, Helen Lai's ח But on1y the Kibbutz Contemporary Da Company, whose base is situated just a few " Millenium Mix", a colourful celebration with Their other piece is of a quite different kind; in a t al with translucent walls theו kilometers from the town. so il is on home tUI·f al1 the ingrediel1ts of a Chinese feast, such srylized realistic cing with long ribbons, was a joy to people "Iive" and move. It reminded me ofthe ח at Karmiel, and upheld the tradition of as da . Jul y, Batsheva is watch . TV-series dealing with the 20-plus generation חן .