Acocella on Israeli dance (NY'ker 8/21/06)

[Ray]

http://www.newyorker.com/critics/dancing/

Israel is a young country, in an emergency. One might therefore expect from its dance companies a certain straightforwardness, a willingness to put on shows about what life is like and how we should feel about it. But in the three Israeli troupes that appeared at the Lincoln Center Festival last month—Batsheva Dance Company, Emanuel Gat Dance, and Yasmeen Godder and the Bloody Bench Players—what we saw was the opposite. Collage form, reflexiveness (representations about representation), attacks on the fourth wall, invasions of the audience: name a post-Brechtian challenge to traditional theatre, and that’s what these people brought us. Such strategies have not vanished from American dance, but, since their high tide in the nineteen-sixties, they have receded. In Europe, however, the quarrel with illusionism—“What do you mean, I should let the audience suspend disbelief?”—is still going on, and so it is, apparently, in Israel.

Moderator: please move this post if it should be somewhere else, like "links."

[dirac]

Ray, this is the perfect place for that article and thank you for posting it!

While we're on the subject, for the record we do not post articles related to modern dance in the Links unless they are have a (strong) connection to ballet. For example, if Mark Morris, say, is doing a ballet for a classical company and there is an interview or preview related to that, it is appropriate for the Links. A review of a new dance by Morris for his own company is not, even if there is a passing reference to ballet in the review. If Morris gives an interview where ballet is mentioned in passing, that also is not for the Links, but if he gives an interview where he speaks about ballet at length, that would be fine, too.

[Ray]

I meant the "Sticky: Links" section of "Modern and Other Dance"

[dirac]

Ray, I was just using the opportunity to remind everyone, that's all.

[carbro]

I meant the "Sticky: Links" section of "Modern and Other Dance"

The title of that thread has just been changed to more clearly reflect its purpose.

[Helene]

Just to clarify, the "Sticky Links" post at the top of the forum is for links to companies and permanent sites for modern and other dance.

[Petra]

Young country. Long history. Old land.

If Ms. Acocella expects Israel to emulate the American experience in any way, she is way off mark. The United States of America was born, the state of Israel was reborn.

In any case, Israeli dance is influenced much more by the European scene than by the American scene.

[Ray]

Young country. Long history. Old land.

If Ms. Acocella expects Israel to emulate the American experience in any way, she is way off mark. The United States of America was born, the state of Israel was reborn.

In any case, Israeli dance is influenced much more by the European scene than by the American scene.

I think that's true to an extent, about the scene considered in general. But both Ohad Naharin's and Yasmeen Godder's extensive experience in American contexts--in their training as well as performance experiences--complicates any easy assessment of the influences of their work. Or, rather, it should!