Batsheva

Last night I saw the Batsheva Dance Company perform the piece Max at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Max was very haunting and sophisticated, engaging and dynamic. The sound was difficult for me though, especially at first. There was a lot of dance to silence that was fascinating yet kind of tense to watch, as if they were performing to music only they could hear. Then, the sound was devilish and surreal, and somewhat off-putting. Once I succumbed to it, however, I was thoroughly enthralled by the other-wordly and surprising movements of the dancers. The bodies moved both unsettlingly slowly and then breathtakingly abruptly.

I read online that this style is called "Gaga": the sensory-based movement language created by Ohad Naharin, the choreographer.