Where is the world heading now? What can we do? A dance that speaks and questions.
Batsheva Dance Company, the world-renowned dance company based in Israel returns to Japan with the Japanese premier of Last Work. Choreographer Ohad Naharin, with his rich intellect and sensibilities, brings 18 virtuoso dancers to present a powerful message to the contemporary world. People who never stop running, people interacting in groups or praying, people being caught and escaping — all provoke the imagination and evoke a mysterious story. Naharin paints a world with strong bodies, wild and sensitive at the same time, delivered to us eloquently by the dancers’ extraordinary performance full of both power and delicacy.
Ohad Naharin pursues the possibilities of dance and poses various questions to the audience through his sharp and warm look at today’s world.
Direction and choreography
Ohad Naharin
(Choreographer, Artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company)
Born in 1952 in Israel, Ohad Naharin began his dance training with Batsheva Dance Company in his twenties and joined the Martha Graham Dance Company after moving to the United States. While in New York, he studied at the Juilliard School, and made his choreographic debut in1980. Appointed Artistic Director of the Batsheva Dance Company in 1990, Naharin produced sensational dances such as“ Kyr”(1990), “Mabul”(1992), and “Anaphaza”(1993), and received the New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award in 2002 and again in 2003, along with numerous other awards. He created a unique movement language known as “GAGA” through which dancers search out new possibilities in movement and develop their dynamic sensitivity in everyday training. Ohad Naharin is one of the most renowned choreographers in the world today and his work has been performed by prominent international companies including Nederlands Dans Theater, Lyon Opera Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet. “Mr. GAGA: A True Story of Love and Dance,” a documentary film that closely followed him and the company for eight years, was released in 2015 and has received awards at film festivals around the world.
Dancers
Batsheva Dance Company
EVENT［1］GAGA WORKSHOP
A special “GAGA WORKSHOP” by members of the Batsheva Dance Company
Date：Tuesday, October 31, 2017, 11：30 a.m.-12：30 p.m.
Venue：Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center
Age：Participants must be over 18 years old(no previous dance experience required).
For detail, please see GAGA Workshop webpage.
EVENT［2］FILM SCREENING
“Mr. GAGA：A True Story of Love and Dance,” a documentary film about Ohad Naharin will be premiered in Fukuoka.
“Mr. GAGA：A True Story of Love and Dance”
(Tomer Heymann/2015/100 min/AEXEA)
The film features fascinating behind-the-scenes footage and dynamic dance scenes. By closely following Naharin and the company, the film captures the unique world of Naharin and his original dance method, “GAGA,” which awakens the physical perceptions and intuitive sensitivity of modern audiences.“Mr. GAGA：A True Story of Love and Dance”won the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Festival and Best Documentary at the Sofia International Film Festival.
※The film will open on Saturday, October 28th, at KBC Cinema, Fukuoka.
Contact
Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center
Tel 093-562-2655(10：00-19：00)
Information
Organized by Kitakyushu City Foundation for Promoting Arts and Culture
Co-organized by Kitakyushu City
Funded by Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities, and Agency for Cultural Affair(Gekijyo, Ongakudo nado Kasseika Jigyo)
Supported by Embassy of Israel
