Everything is slightly off-kilter about this group.
The costumes by Rakefet Levy are at once urban and hippie, reflecting the time company co-founder Noa Wertheim and her dancers (which include her three sisters) have spent at the eco-art village they created, and the reasons they created it. The clothes resemble futuristic monks’ robes, only in jersey. With time and movement, layers and skin slowly reveal themselves.
The haunting music by Ran Bagno evokes folk, creepy nursery (think Trent Reznor), and manic Gogol Bordello-esque vaudeville. I could say more but you should just look this guy up.
The set, also by Levy, is a deceptively simple façade in the shape of a house, with a cutout square that sits flat with the wall, or else retreats and moves forward to create exits and entrances. The wall sits for the most part parallel to the edge of the stage, so at one point when the whole façade suddenly shifts at an angle diagonal to the stage, the power of this elegantly simple movement is such that I just as suddenly lost my breath.
The choreography without question is some of the most powerful and unique I’ve seen. The movements are familiar but a bit off; there are a few humorous moments (as there usually are) when unfamiliar movement is tested. I love moments like that, when the human body is challenged in ways not quite beautiful but nonetheless intriguing. I say that because I think some of the choreography in this piece is meant to be slightly awkward and “ugly.” There are, however, probably also just as many elegant moments. The sheer athleticism and speed of the dancers make this such a treat to watch.
After the performance Wertheim talked about what informs the piece—mainly the juxtapositions and mirroring of vessel/light, moon/sun, interior/exterior, body/soul, line/circle, masculine/feminine, kibbutz/modern life…but what I took away most from the performance is its powerful and clever simplicity; nothing is overwrought or overworked. And it’s none of that dance/theatre crap (or whatever you want to call it) I can’t stand. In my opinion it is pure dance for dance’s sake, with motifs drawn from conflict/lack of resolution in the land where the dancers are from.
Check out this nice feature written about this piece.
