{"id":9191,"date":"2010-12-30T03:45:04","date_gmt":"2010-12-30T10:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=9191"},"modified":"2011-01-08T23:10:23","modified_gmt":"2011-01-09T06:10:23","slug":"in-the-studio-with-naharins-max","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=9191","title":{"rendered":"In the Studio with Naharin’s MAX"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Batsheva Dance Company open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MAX is back! The Batsheva Dance Company will be performing Ohad Naharin\u2019s MAX from January 5 \u2013 8 and March 8 & 9, 2011 at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

Naharin invited the press to an open rehearsal of MAX that took place in Batsheva\u2019s Varda Studio in Suzanne Dellal \u2013 a wonderfully spacious black box with room for experimentation. For Naharin, the creative process is ongoing and the dance works take on an almost organic character, changing and evolving over time.<\/p>\n

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Ohad Naharin talks to the Batsheva Company dancers about the sequence "isa nori" in an open rehearsal of MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Watching the rehearsal in progress, the energy of this experimentation is in the air, and the dance to word ratio is just the way I like it \u2013 nowhere near even. MAX has many sequences, each with its own mood and flow. In his work with the dancers, Naharin gives a name to each sequence for easy reference during rehearsals. When the dancers work on a sequence called \u201cIsa Nori\u201d he explains to the visitors that the dancers \u201cknow that I have constant debate with this section.\u201d<\/p>\n

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"isa nori" sequence in Batsheva Dance Company open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In \u201cIsa Nori\u201d the dancers kneel in a group, facing the audience, their bodies almost immobile, with only the hands and upper body involved in a series of articulated gestures that give the impression of a symbolic private language. After they perform it once, Naharin says, \u201cWhat if we double the speed and create a little bit of discomfort?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Once more, with discomfort: Batsheva Dance Company in an open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then they move on to \u201cYash\u201d a sequence that is truncated by complete blackouts between its internal segments, the light revealing a solo that is then taken up and developed by the group. Contrasting elements – the one and the many, slow undulating movements and sudden shifts, create a stimulating tension. When they finished, Naharin said to the visiting press, \u201cWe can think and talk a little together but perhaps before we reflect, let\u2019s dance some more,\u201d and the dancers continued with a sequence they call \u201cRussian Jazz.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Batsheva Dance Company open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Later in the conversation, Naharin shared his perspective on his creative process, saying, \u201cIt is the continuation of a process that does not end with the premiere. Dance is a disappearance act; it allows us to discover it anew each time. The work does not end \u2013 there is no deadline marking the end of a process for me.\u201d One of the inevitable changes that occur in any dance work over time is a change of cast. Yet Naharin said that the changes he introduces into a work are not products of necessity, saying, \u201cIt is created from my obsession not affected by the fact that the cast changes. There are new interpretations and discoveries that nurture one another. The change is not for the sake of change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Batsheva Dance Company in open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naharin explained that when he creates a new dance work, he has a sense of the \u201cspirit of the work\u201d and through it, a knowledge of the elements it will contain, although these may change over time, through the process of working on the dance. When he first created MAX, Naharin says he \u201cplanned to make a work with a quiet soundtrack.\u201d The final product, with original music composed and performed by Maxim Waratt and music production and mix by Ohad Fishof may not be what most people would consider \u201cquiet,\u201d yet Naharin says, \u201cThe quiet takes on more meaning when it is in the spaces\u2026a slight decrease in volume creates an enhanced awareness\u2026quiet is a place of surging life and music can also symbolize this thing that I call quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final word is that there is no final word, as Naharin says, \u201cThe process takes place in a playground that I create, and it has its own rules, and the good part is that we can break our rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Batsheva Dance Company in an open rehearsal of Naharin's MAX\/Photo: Ayelet Dekel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MAX by Ohad Naharin.
\nA work for 10 dancers, performed by the Batsheva Dance Company, 60 minutes without intermission.
\nOriginal music composed and performed by Maxim Waratt
\nCostume Design: Rakefet Levy
\nLighting Design: Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)
\nMusic Production & Mix: Ohad Fishof
\nMastering: Binya Reches
\nMAX will be performed by: Rachel Osborne, Iyar Elezra, Shachar Binyamini, Shani Garfinkel, Matan David, Tom Weinberger, Erez Zohar, Adi Zlatin, Chen-Wei Lee, Doug Letheren, Bosmat Nossan, Michal Sayfan, Bobbi Smith, Ori Moshe Ofri, Shamel Pitts, Ariel Freedman, Ian Robinson, and Idan Sharabi.<\/p>\n

MAX will be performed January 5 \u2013 8, 2011 at 21:00, January 7 at 22:00, at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, 8 Yehieli Street, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv. Tickets can be ordered online (in English) on the Batsheva site<\/a>, or call 03-5104037.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MAX is back! The Batsheva Dance Company will be performing Ohad Naharin\u2019s MAX from January 5 \u2013 8 and March 8 & 9, 2011 at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv. Naharin invited the press to an open rehearsal of MAX that took place in Batsheva\u2019s Varda Studio in Suzanne Dellal \u2013 a wonderfully […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}