Ohad Me, Please.

(Disclaimer: I'm having major foggy sick brain today so forgive the following post.)


Last night I made my return to the New York dance scene….although only as a member of the audience. Since I heard about it in April, I have been waiting to journey to 26th and 10th to see Cedar Lake and enjoy their Ohad Naharin program, “Decadance.” While I was in Montana I heard from several friends that it exceeded expectations and part of my decision to come back to the city when I did was based on the necessity of seeing this.

Why is it that whenever you have time to spare, your cab seems to teleport you to your location while any time you need to get somewhere promptly the cab moves at geriatric speed? Last night I arrived at the theater over 40 minutes early and since there seemed to be nothing around except for closed art galleries, I just killed some time sitting on a stoop waiting for David. It was a good amount of time to process my jealousy that Cedar Lake had gotten to work so closely with Naharin. By the time David had arrived, my excitement was palpable and I was ready to be wowed.

It’s been about a year since I saw “Telophaza,” Naharin’s life changing explosion of dance at the Lincoln Center Festival. It was the first full-length work I had ever seen of his and I knew that it would be hard to surpass. “Decadance” didn’t change my memory of that incredible evening but it came pretty damn close to equaling it.

In my past few years of dancing (and viewing) in the city, I’ve never consistently enjoyed a choreographer as much as Naharin. His movement doesn’t follow the same sunken hip, hyper-kinetic pattern so many choreographers are intent to reproduce these days. Instead it uses dance as the most important form of self-expression that can push the audience to points of elation that otherwise seem impossible. At moments the dancers seem otherworldly only to seem utterly human the next moment.

Emerging from the back of the stage came about 14 floating torsos and I knew I was in heaven. Dancers clad in white biketards that made them look as if they were legless mannequins hovering in the air presented the first of many stunning visuals of the evening. They stood staring at the audience in almost uncomfortable silence that kept us guessing when things would begin. Suddenly with a unison chant, the music started and the movement quickly followed. All of Naharin’s pieces are so perfectly structured but I was interested to see how “Decadance” would compare as it’s more of a “greatest hits” collection than a fully new work. Fortunately it’s not presented piece by piece but instead flows as if they were all created together.

(The view from my pre-show jealousy stoop.)

Following the floating torsos came my favorite two sections of the entire evening which consisted of a duet (featuring schoolmate Jason Kittelberger) and five men doing some of the most difficult (stamina wise and technically) dancing I have seen in a long time. Both the duet and the men’s piece contained some gasp inducing partnering that found the dancers flipping themselves to the floor and landing in positions I’ve only imagined. This piece perfectly exhibited everything that I love about Ohad; the fact that it can have extreme moments of stillness (passing the bucket of paint from one man to another or the gentle rocking of Jason's hands in the duet) followed by unparalleled energy. The men ran all over the stage, jumping and partnering each other with abandon to one of my favorite musical choices of the night.

The eclecticism both in music choice (which ranges from classical to techno) and movement quality astounds me. In the middle of the men’s section, just when you think you are getting a grasp on things a feather boa clad woman comes strutting across on stilts only to disappear moments later. She’s a blip on the radar (who will later return) but enough to turn the whole piece on its head. It was a moment that highlighted Naharin’s unique sense of humor and his embrace of not taking dance too seriously. After years of working in classical ballet corps, which stresses unity down to the last hair strand, it was quite different watching the dancers perform “Decadance.” Within the moments of unity there is a constant difference between the way the dancers move that emphasizes the individuality of every person’s unique style; you can really see Naharin’s Gaga technique in use.

If I had the patience I would detail every moment of this stellar evening but I can only recommend that if you are in the New York City area you go to Cedar Lake’s Website and pick up a ticket. From the production aspects to the dancers to the incredible choreographer, it’s an evening that’s not to be missed. Congrats to all of the dancers for performing this piece so beautifully night after night! I have NO IDEA how their bodies make it through.

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