Dance Review: 'ArtLana'

A light-hearted evening spent with a couple of strong and lovely dancers with a fetching rapport between them.

By ORA BRAFMAN
dance review 88 (photo credit: )
dance review 88
(photo credit: )
ArtLana Summer Dance Suzanne Dellal Tel Aviv August 11 The pair Arthur Austman and Ilana Balasan offered us a breezy fantasy in a dynamic and free world and promised a colorful tour filled with sensations, emotions and lots of love. In a way, they delivered just that. A light-hearted evening spent with a couple of strong and lovely dancers with a fetching rapport between them - which is convincing and touching - often camouflaged the fact that their choreographic innovations were on the sparse side. One has to remember that this was their first full evening of their own creation, and the effort they took to maintain high professional standards didn't go unnoticed. Miki Patish directed the musical support and Ya'akov Baresi designed most effective and attractive lighting. Simple, yet versatile outfits by Yaron Zino were a pleasure and served them well, indeed. ArtLana is composed of 10 scenes, each with its own story or ambience, danced to a mixture of musical styles ranging from Bach to Bjorn, from Middle Eastern wooden flute to ship horn in the fog. Putting it all together and trying to form interconnected passages was a serious hurdle, but they overcame it with relative ease. Some of the pieces - particularly the first and last - were well crafted; others were too cute for their own good: the parody on a Russian burlesque queen, or two toddlers in blown-up diapers, for instance. This medley of dances could hold water due to its impeccable dancing, a measure of innocence and lots of love onstage, but there is a chance that same format will lose its charm next time. There is talent there and Austman is a charismatic, virtuoso dancer. Hopefully, both he and Balasan can regroup and dig deeper to sharpen their artistic statement and their artistic stamp.