THREE by Ohad Naharin - Justine Gouache DM1

THREE  by OHAD NAHARIN at PALAIS GARNIER

The famous Israeli company has come to present on the Palais Garnier stage a ballet created on 2005: Three, created by Ohad Naharin, his choreographer and artistic director. 

Based in Tel Aviv since its inception, the Batsheva Dance Company was in Paris on the 5th of January 2016 to perform a ballet composed of three parts: Bellus, Humus and Secus, danced by 17 dancers, which I attended. 

“Bellus” (beautiful), “Humus” (earth), “Secus” (otherwise): the three parts of Three follow one another on very varied music, but with the same simplicity of staging. For only decoration, black walls on the sides which cuts the entries for the dancer. For only costumes, brightly colored city clothes (tank tops and three-quarter pants for women, cotton t-shirts and pants for men), which allows to see the sensuality and athletic body of the dancers.

The first piece is a succession of solos and “pas de deux”, here we can really see the choreographic writing of Ohad Naharin. Flexible, dynamic but sometimes spasmodic movements, that does not prevent a real visibility of the movement because the energy used by the dancers is for me perfectly mastered.

For the second piece, it’s an exclusively feminine choreography on the hypnotic music of Brian Eno. And that one could say feminist, in that it stages an appropriation by women of their body and their sexuality, the movements sometimes remind me Martha Graham because of using their pelvic as the origin of the movements, which brings at a carnal energy of the dancers.

The third piece reaches for me its greatest intensity. Electronic and Pop music mingle with the movement and joy of dancing together, in always moving spatial patterns. Here we can really feel that the dancers offer themselves to each other as they do, and they are open to the public, all the humanism we know to the choreography of Ohad Naharin is here deploying.

Again, I remain amazed by the work of this company. The technique and bodily abilities of the dancers are incredible, and, the artistic and emotion that emerge from their dance really touches me.

• YouTube link (excract of Three) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCaHbOLGXfY

Artistic director: Ohad Naharin                    

Music: Bellus : J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, par Glenn Gould
Humus : Brian Eno (Neroli)
Secus : Chari Chari – Favorite Final Geisha Show, Kid 606 – Flutter + Rayon – Mount Carmel (mix: Stephan Ferry), AGF – Ambient Trust, Chronomad (Wahed) Private Birds – You Stop, Fennesz – On, Rajesh Roshan – Na Tum Jano Na Hum, Seefeel – Me, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys  – You’re Welcome

Dancers: Olivia Ancona, William Barry, Mario Bermudez Gil, Omri Drumlevich, Bret  Easterling, Iyar Elezra, Hsin-Yi Hsiang, Rani Lebzelter, Ori Ofi Moshe, Shamel Pitts, Oscar Ramos, Nitzan Ressler, Ian Robinson, Or Meir Schraiber, Maayan Sheinfeld, Zina (Natalya) Zinchenko, Adi Zlatin