Decadance, Batsheva Dance Company, State Theatre, Melbourne Festival, Thursday October 15th 2015

Decadance, Batsheva Dance Company, State Theatre, Melbourne Festival, Thursday October 15th 2015

I have seen Batsheva Dance Company perform about four or five times before and was not disappointed this time with "Decadance".  They are a superb group of athletic artists.  They performed at the State Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne for the Melbourne Festival.

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre.  So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights.  Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases.

Entering the theatre the usher did not have any programmes.  I earlier went to the programme sellers and they were selling the 30th Anniversary book that I had bought last Saturday. I thought it odd that there was not a programme in sight with any of the audience members in our area in the stalls, and so I resigned myself that there was not a programme.  Meeting up with friends, who had sat in the Balcony, after the show had received a programme.  I write this review without any reference to the programme notes.

Upon entering the theatre a male dancer was warming up on stage with phrases from dances.  He kept us entertained as people assumed their seats and he received warm applause.  Extra security was evident throughout the theatre and reminded me of the famous final performance scene from "A Sound Of Music".    This extra security was interesting as the usual prevalence of mobile phones had been turned off, except for a blonde woman in F Row who just had to write a text.  Doesn't she know that there is no coverage and it will not be sent until after the show.  She proceeded to take out a pad for notes - maybe a reviewer who should know better to be a role model and turn her phone off prior to the performance.

I think the official performance began at 7.38 when the male dancer went upstage and began a new sequence.  The other dancers now joined him in the pulsating and individual solos.  It appeared totally improvised and it became more exciting when all of the dancers simultaneously synchronised their movements. The ensemble danced in unison briefly and the curtain quickly fell and was a very funny beginning to the "Decadance".

The curtain opens and fifteen dancers are in a semi circle seated on chairs.  The dancers all wear the same costume of a white shirt under a black jacket, Their shoes and trousers are also black.  They perform swirling, reaching and yearning movements.  There is a repeated canon of the dancers who lean back in their seats with their arms and legs outstretched.  The last dancer falls forward off their seat and performs a short solo in mainly a prone position.  The repeated seated dance is very spiritual and respectful. It is also similar to an initiation as if he must succumb to be accepted This canon is repeated many times with the same man falling from his seat.  Later canons have a central man jump onto his seat. In contrast his solos are upright.

The dancers throw off their hats and continue to dance.  Later they discard their shoe then their jackets and finally their trousers,  The dance is so pulsating and reminded me of Ravel's "Bolero" as it is so exciting and builds intensity both musically and choreographically.

This first piece segued with the fading of the lights, the dancers scooping up their costumes as six men stepped forward into a line.

These six men stood forming a line in a tunnel of light.  They created a dance whereby the line would move either to the right or left that was hypnotic.  A new dancer would join the formation as one would leave the group.  This was repeated in the opposite direction with a new member joining the group.  This piece had a different mood to the opening.  To me it was so much about respect for the dancers that have been a part of Batsheva Dance Company as it is also about welcoming new members to the ensemble.

The segues or transitions from one piece to the next were clean.  There was a trio of two women and a man.  This piece was quieter and more reflective with weaving in and out between of the other dancers.

The joy of Batsheva Dance Company is their exciting and exhilarating homage to folkloric traditions and rhythms. Simple gestures or movements are embellished with such grace and dignity. Sometimes the dancers are required to vocalise with either a chant or song in such a compelling and determined manner.

Another sequence was a column of five dancers who would each step forward, expose their mid torso and return to the back of the column.  Later each dancer would be reveal their back and return to the back of the column.  This sequence reminded me of Pina Bausch's "1980" with each dancer competing to show their scars or wounds.  Choreographically Batsheva's version was so different to the competitive nature of Pina Bausch but the mood of exposition and sharing was similar.  We, as the audience were witnessing the dancers ability to share.

There is another large ensemble piece with fifteen dancers.  They again wear their hats and black suits.  Each dancer performs a variation of a gyrating shimmy.  "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" plays at some stage.  Later they turn to the audience and walk forward.  It is quite sinister as they walk towards and into the audience as the house lights are brought up.

Each dancer walks up the aisles selecting a victim and escorts them to the stage.  There are various expressions of fear, trepidation and excitement on the faces of the audience members.  They dance to
Dean Martin's "Sway".  The audience members can improvise with the professional dancers and are also guided into their choices.  Sometimes a Batsheva dancer would try to spin or lift an audience member.  These moments were magical when they either failed or were choreographically in harmony as we were watching the joy of dancing and sharing.  The audience cheered and applauded and you could feel the State Theatre rise with joy.

The dancers coerced the audience members into the centre of a circle as they danced around them. One female audience member was left upstage left to roars of laughter from the crowd.  The spontaneity of this dance made my heart swell.  I have tears of joy while remembering the incredibly powerful moments that all of these people shared.  The audience members were directed to their seats and the audience wildly greeted them back into the audience.

A lone audience woman was dancing centre stage with a Batsheva man.  She cringed at the attention she was receiving and the audience cheered her.  Suddenly all of the Batsheva dancers fall to the ground and this lone woman in a red dress is left awkwardly standing centre stage.  The audience went wild at the end with cheers and thunderous applause.

Another piece I will call "Numbers" as a counting sequence is repeated (in Yiddish?) with one, one two, one two three, one two three, one two three four etc.  Each counting sequence building with an extra new count.  The phrases would coincide with the repetitive moves for each count.  New phrases would be danced with each new grouping.

The final sequence had a female dancer show her hands.  It was like a curtain call.  The audience applauded and a male dancer did the same, so again the audience applauded.  The dance continued and the audience stopped applauding.  People were confused and now decided it was not the curtain call as the dancers moved on from showing their hands.  This was probably the only down fall of the night as people looked at each other not knowing if this was the curtain calls or not.

The action did build until it was obvious the night was complete.  The magnificent dancers made two circles each swirling in opposite directions.  The lights faded to a wonderful night of dance.

The audience went wild and some people did stand though not like a pure eruptive standing ovation. Audience members now began to look to get permission to see if they too should stand.  No it was too late folks.  A true standing ovation is eruptive like the "Korean Drummers" back in an earlier Melbourne Festival.  I think they would have received a standing ovation had they finished with a stronger piece.

I wish Arts Centre Melbourne management would have their ushers stand like the security staff did at this performance as it certainly reduced the mobile phone usage during  the performance. The security staff were not off putting.  I welcome more of this.


Both my partner and I gave this 8.5/10.