Reflections, a solo work inspired by images of the Creation, serves as a tour de force to the bald-headed Khabarova, a master of her craft.
By ORA BRAFMANdance review 88(photo credit: )
Tania Khabarova
Reflections
Haifa University
May 22
The Klipa Company's physical theater mini-festival, running through this weekend, has featured an international group of guests - among them Tania Khabarova, one of the founding members of the ground-breaking Russian physical theater troupe Derevo.
Reflections, a solo work inspired by images of the Creation, serves as a tour de force to the bald-headed Khabarova, a master of her craft. Painted white, she has an ambiguous, almost androgynous look. She conveys her art with rather simple movements and props. Onstage, there is nothing too elaborate, no frills or acrobatic achievements. Yet she manages to hypnotize spectators with her chameleon ability to change before our eyes from fallen angel to crawling insect, from a naked tribal shaman dancer or an austere aged sorcerer to a fidgety ostrich - and then some.
In her opening scene, Khabarova introduces her artistic process, which deals with deconstructing expectations and offering an alternative reading to the objects she uses and the characters she portrays. Each gesture is carried out with diamond-cut precision as she plays with the quality and intensity of each movement; her poetry provides unexpected rhythms and phrasings.
Well-versed in physical and visual theater, mime and Butoh - much less in dance techniques - her stage persona is intriguing. She manages to retain her demeanor as she offers multifaceted insights and juxtapositions.
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