Speeding up

Sharon Eyal has become dance’s "it" woman.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Batsheva Company 370 (photo credit: Gadi Dagon )
Batsheva Company 370
(photo credit: Gadi Dagon )
If there was an odometer for career success, Sharon Eyal’s would be blasting far beyond the speed limit. Having just unveiled a new work for the Batsheva Company, and preparing to tour internationally with her Washington-based dance troupe, Company E, Eyal is more prominent on the dance scene than ever.
Eyal has been the house choreographer for Batsheva for several years, however, in the past few months, her name has become almost ubiquitous in the international dance community.
It seems that everyone wants a little bit of the magic that Eyal, and her partner Gai Behar, leave in their wake.
Thursday night the Batsheva Ensemble premiered yet another new work by Eyal and Behar. The evening consisted of “Lost Cause,” by the dynamic duo, and “Tabula Rasa,” by Ohad Naharin.
With each new piece, Eyal and Behar further define their choreographic style. Their most recent Israeli premier, “House,” flaunted the phenomenal dancers of the Batsheva Company in nude unitards. Eyal entranced the audience in short interludes between group sections. The piece was deliciously naughty, and fiercely technical.
“Lost Cause” is a collaboration with DJ and musician Ori Lichtik, who has worked with Eyal and Behar on many previous pieces. In fact, it is Lichtik’s droning electronic music that sets the atmosphere in most of Eyal’s work, creating a nightclub-type environment in the theater.
Another important element in all of Eyal and Behar’s works is the lighting design. Once again, the two have teamed up with designer Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi) for “Lost Cause.”
For Naharin, Friday evening marks the return of an “oldie, but a goodie.”
The last time “Tabula Rasa” was staged was almost a decade ago. The piece premiered in 1986, originally created for the Pittsburgh Ballet. This was years before Naharin’s momentous return to Israel, and before his appointment as the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company.
Since then, Naharin has gone on to create a long list of works for Batsheva, as well as for companies around the world. Indeed, “Tabula Rasa” has been incorporated into the repertoires of several companies and is hailed as one of Naharin’s greatest pieces.

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Danced by a cast of 10, “Tabula Rasa” presents a picture of sparse elegance.
Music by Arvo Part transports the audience to a far-away place, filled with nostalgia and longing.
The young and enthusiastic dancers of the Ensemble will undoubtedly do a great deal of justice to this old favorite.
The Ensemble’s new evening will run at the Suzanne Dellal Center on March 30, 31, April 8, 9, 20, 21 and 23. For tickets or more information, visit www.batsheva.co.il.