This performance is made possible by the W. Ford Schumann ’50 Endowment
for the Arts and the Lipp Family Fund for Performing Artists and supported
in part by the Consulate General of Israel to New England.
CHOREOGRAPHED BY OHAD NAHARIN
SAT | SEP 26 | 8PM | MAINSTAGE
’62 CENTER FOR THEATRE AND DANCE
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PHOTO: MAXIM WARATT
B AT S H E VA–
T H E YO U N G
ENSEMBLE:
DECADANCE
Williams College CenterSeries
Presents
Decadance
Choreography by
Ohad Naharin
Performed by
Batsheva - The Young Ensemble
Artistic Director and
Choreographer
Ohad Naharin
Dancers
Etay Axelroad, Yotam Baruch,
Yael Ben Ezer, Kim Chunwoong, Matan Cohen,
Korina Fraiman, Ido Gidron,
Mai Golan, Lenny Hassin, Chiaki Horita,
Yaara Lapid, Opal Markus, Eyvatar Omessy,
Kyle Scheurich, Yoni Simone, Amalia Smith,
Stephanie Troyak, Kelvin Vu
Lighting Design
Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)
Costume Design
Rakefet Levi
The CenterSeries performances are made possible in part by the W. Ford Schumann
’50 Endowment for the Arts and the Lipp Family Fund for the Performing Arts.
There will be no intermission.
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MUSIC
Stones Start Spinning............................... David Darling
Arab folk music........................................ Habib Alla Jamal,
Khader Shama (arrangement)
Illusion........................................................ Maxim Waratt
Echad mi Yodea......................................... Ohad Naharin (arrangement),
The Tractor’s Revenge
Cum Dederit............................................... Vivaldi
Somewhere Over the Rainbow................ Harold Arlen,
Marusha (adapted)
Hooray for Hollywood............................... Don Swan & His Orchestra
Sway............................................................ Dean Martin
Do................................................................ Chronomad
Fac ut arbeat.............................................. Vivaldi
Hava Nagila............................................... Dick Dale
Train............................................................ Goldfrapp
Issa Nori...................................................... Maxim Waratt
Favourite Final Geisha Show.................... Chari Chari
Flutter.......................................................... Kid 606
Mount Carmel........................................... Rayon
AmbientTRUST......................................... AGF
PRIVATEBirds............................................. AGF
YouSTOP..................................................... AGF
On................................................................ Fennesz
Na tum jano na hum................................. Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai
Me............................................................... Seefeel
You’re Welcome........................................ Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys
PROGRAM
Selected excerpts from works by Ohad Naharin
Anaphase, (1993), Zachacha (1998), George and Zalman (2006),
Max (2007), Seder (2007), Mabul (1992), Sadeh21 (2011),
Z/na (1995), Kyr (1990), Three (2005), Naharin’s Virus (2001)
ABOUT THE COMPANY
“It is a privilege to grant dancers at the very start of their careers the ability to
become our creative partners. We hand them the Gaga tool box, our ongoing
research of many years, and we make it available to them for immediate use.
We watch them go beyond their familiar limits on a daily basis to become great
interpreters. Often the young dancers of the Ensemble show me fresh, new
ways of looking at my own work.” – Ohad Naharin
The Young Ensemble was founded by Naharin in 1990 when he joined the
company as Artistic Director, out of an interest in nurturing creative processes,
3 young audiences in Israel. Its unique
mentoring young dancers, and developing
framework comprises independent choreographic support, rigorous studio
training, domestic and international touring, and an exemplary school outreach
program. The temporary nature of the program’s two-year structure colors
it with a wide range of emotions, inspiring the dancers to make the most of
their experience and make a significant impact on both their own practices and
the execution of Naharin’s choreography. Each year nearly 400 dancers from
around the world travel to Batsheva’s home at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel
Aviv for Ensemble auditions. The Batsheva senior company is composed almost
entirely of Young Ensemble graduates.
“Batsheva’s Young Ensemble is unquestionably one of the most magnificent
collection of dancers...Beyond their fine and strong technique, their reenactment of MAX by Ohad Naharin sparkled with freshness, making the
work a spectacular display of effortless streaming, and connected the dancing
body to something greater, beyond its limits. Any choreographer should feel
fortunate to work with such an ensemble, since their implementation of MAX
managed to retrieve some preliminary authenticity and innocence, and left a
lasting impression on the retina“ -Israeli Dance Critics Circle awarding the 2014
Prize for Best Interpretation to the Ensemble.
SCHOLAR NOTES
What’s New?
by Norton Owen
The pursuit of “what’s new” in dance can sometimes seem relentless. Premieres
and debuts are loudly trumpeted to stimulate excitement, and it can often be
difficult to discern exactly what’s truly novel. Is this the first time a particular
dance is being performed in the U.S., or only in the Northeast? Or perhaps the
dance has been seen before, but this is the first time a particular company is
performing it, or a certain dancer is making his or her role debut. Because the
yearning for absolute freshness is so constant, it’s worth contemplating exactly
what constitutes something new in dance.
If ever there was an art form existing only in the present, dance is it. Even if
the steps are rigidly set and the structure remains fixed, a dance performance
is characterized by its live execution in real time. In the words of the great
modern dance artist José Limón, “Dance is a moment and then it is finished.”
This is so regardless of whether the dance itself is old or new, and this apparent
contraction is nowhere more evident than in the world of classical ballet. This
discipline derives from only five basic body positions, and there are dozens of
steps that are codified and performed each time in much the same way. And
yet something utterly new can derive from putting those steps into a different
order, altering the speed or timing, employing new music, moving the dancers
around in fresh patterns, and changing the performers’ relationships to each
other. And so, in a sense, all dancers create something anew each time they
perform, whether it is a 19th century story ballet or a first-time event.
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In 2000, after Ohad Naharin had been the director of Batsheva for ten years, he
conceived the idea of Decadance as a way of looking back over his first decade
of creations for this eminent Israeli company. With a prefix meaning ten and a
play on words flirting with the idea of decadence, the title must have seemed
like a provocative way to frame a retrospective, and perhaps he initially thought
the idea would be a passing fancy. But another decade and a half since the title
first emerged, it seems clear that the concept of Decadance signifies an endlessly fertile field for creativity.
Naharin has been quite candid in declaring, “Decadance is not a new work. It is
more about reconstruction: I like to take pieces or sections of existing works
and rework it, reorganize it and create the possibility to look at it from a new
angle. It always teaches me something new about my work and composition.”
This concept is akin to Merce Cunningham sampling his older works in onetime-only mashups called Events, often with different music and scenic elements than those originally employed. And even the trailblazing composer Igor
Stravinsky emphasized his reliance on rearranging older work. “Only God can
create,” he said. “I make music from music.”
Some might see a certain cynicism in Naharin’s claim that “Everything has already been done.” And yet by constantly reinventing, reordering, refining, and
tweaking the ingredients in Decadance, perhaps Naharin is teaching us a timehonored lesson: Everything old is new again.
Norton Owen is Director of Preservation for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
COMPANY
Artistic Director: Ohad Naharin
Executive Director: Dina Aldor
Associate Artistic Director: Adi Salant
Ensemble Director: Matan David
Rehearsal Director: Hillel Kogan
Stage Manager: Gavriel Spitzer
International Tours Director: Iris Bovshover
Producer: Naomi Friend
Ensemble Technical Director : Yitzhak Assulin
Sound: Igal Feldman
Stage: Yuval Glickman, Eliav Refaely
Wardrobe: Shoshana Or Lavi, Kyle Worsley
The activity of the Young Ensemble in the 2015-16 season is made possible, in
part, through support from the American Friends of Batsheva, Bank Hapoalim,
Aharon Gutwirth Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance and an
anonymous donation in honor of the National Young Arts Foundation, USA.
For more information, contact Lisa Preiss-Fried, Director of International
Development [email protected] or call
5 212-545-7182
CenterSeries Programming Committee
Denise Buell, Chairperson, Dean of the Faculty, and Professor of Religion
Sandra Burton, Lipp Family Director of Dance
Irene M. Castillo ‘16
Rachel Chanoff, Director of Programming, CenterSeries
Cassandra Cleghorn, Senior Lecturer in English and American Studies
Randal Fippinger, Producing Director
John P. Gerry, Associate Dean of Faculty
Marjorie Hirsch, Chair and Professor of Music
Mia G. Hull ‘17
David Gurcay-Morris, Associate Professor of Theatre
Amy Podmore, Professor of Art
Nathaniel T. Wiessner, Technical Dir. for Dance & Presenting Production Manager
’62 Center Staff
Sound & Media Supervisor:.................................................Jim Abdou
Costume Shop Supervisor:...................................................Barbara A. Bell
Technical Supervisor:.............................................................Cosmo Catalano
Director of Programming, CenterSeries:..........................Rachel Chanoff
Producing Director:................................................................Randal Fippinger
House Manager:.....................................................................Stephanie Mendoza
Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor:................................Samantha E. Patterson
Technical Director for Theatre............................................Maia Robbins-Zust
Assistant Manager, Performances and Events:..............M. Willa Simon
Presenting Production Manager and
Technical Director for Dance:..............................................Nathaniel T. Wiessner
Wardrobe: Wendy Carron and Stella Schwartz
Costume Shop Crew: Hannah Antonellis, Sierra McDonald, Grace Sullivan,
Rebecca Williams.
Scene Shop Crew: Samuel Alterman, Jonathan Berg, Claire A.Bergey, Christina
Cleroux, Maris Leigh Davidson, Gabrielle Dibenedetto, Anthony Fitzgerald, Aaron
Hamblin, Mia Hull, Abraham Kirby-Galen, Russell Maclin, Priscilla Pino, Uygar
Sozer, Jackson C. Zerkle, Carina B. Zox
Events Student Staff: Betty Annan-Noonoo, John Charles (JC) Bahr-De-Stefano,
Daniel S. Brandes, Khari Dawkins, Nicholas Dehn, Danielle (Dani) D’Oliveira,
Tyler P. Duff, William Farabow, John Fives, Naomi Francois, Lydia Graham, Connor
Harris, Gabrielle Ilagan, Jessica Kim, Jacqueline R. Lane, Lylia X. Li, Jilly Lim, Paula
Mejia, Russell Monyette, Alice Murphy, Tyma Nimri, Nam Nguyen, Emily O’Brien,
Amy Qiu, Hannah K. Rabb, John G. Scaletta, Katie Shao, Grace Wetherall, Natalie
Wilkinson
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Featured Upcoming Events:
THEATRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTS
BLOOD WEDDING
WRITTEN BY FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA
DIRECTED BY KAMERON STEELE
OCT 15TH to 17th | 7:30 PM | CENTERSTAGE
OCT 17th | 2:30 PM | CENTERSTAGE
Legendary Spanish poet Federico García Lorca’s masterpiece Blood Wedding
(Bodas de Sangre) employs a tragic love-triangle narrative to underscore the
widespread misfortune that class conflict and a rigid, hierarchical society
can produce. Staged by American director Kameron Steele in a style that is
part magical realism, part dance theatre, the production will also feature an
original score for violin, cello, and percussion by Ileana Perez Velazquez, a
warped runway set by David Gürçay-Morris, costumes fashioned in a bold
palette by Deborah Brothers, and a dynamic lighting design by Ayumu “Poe”
Saegusa. “Rather than try to replicate the Andalusian society,” says Steele, “this
production will take advantage of the CenterStage’s unique, flexible structure to
focus on the universal appeal of Lorca’s poetry and iconoclastic worldview.” In
our age of globalization, with the gap between the rich and poor growing, and
the middle classes, where they exist, under siege, Lorca’s tragedy gives us a
chance to explore these global problems through engaging the rifts in our own
culture. Friday evening’s performance will be followed by a Q & A.
WIND-UP FEST
OCT 15TH, 17TH, & 18TH | MAINSTAGE
Wind-Up Fest is an enchanted expedition to the fiery core of nonfiction, guided
by the world’s most compelling creators of documentaries, podcasts, long-form
journalism, live performance and storytelling. Opening the weekend is Olmo and
the Seagull, a journey through the labyrinth of a woman’s mind as Olivia, a freespirited stage actress, prepares for a starring role in a theatrical production of
Chekhov’s The Seagull. Radio 1-2-3 is a thrilling immersion into the land of radio
and its possibilities, with performers, journalists, and podcasters; Pulitzer Prizewinner Elizabeth Kolbert joins the directors of Uncertain to discuss the perils of
nature out of balance; the Gaudino Fund, the Healy Fund, and the WWII Fund
at Williams College bring the groundbreaking documentary the groundbreaking
documentary Of Men and War to campus, accompanied by director Laurent
Bécue-Renard. And that’s not all: for a full schedule of this extraordinary
weekend visit wind-up.org.
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Upcoming Events:
Sonia Nazario: Enrique’s Journey
MainStage
Sept 30
Dance Department Presents: Dancing Matters 1:
A Case for Dance in Higher Education Griffin Hall 4Oct 6
Dance Department Presents: Dancing Matters 2:
A Movement Workshop Dance StudioOct 6
Asian Studies Department Presents: A Moving Sound
Tai-Chi and Dance WorkshopAdams Memorial TheatreOct 7
Asian Studies Department Presents:
Taiwanese Musicians: A Moving SoundAdams Memorial TheatreOct 8
Theatre Department Presents: Blood Wedding
Written by Federico García Lorca
Directed by Kameron SteeleCenterStageOct 15 to 17
Wind-Up Fest (Williamstown Film Festival 2.0)
Olmo & The Seagull, dir. Petra Costa and Leah Glob
Radio 1-2-3 – with Scott Carrier,
Monica Bill Barnes, and Love + Radio
Uncertain, dir. Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol
Song From the Forest, dir. Michael Obert
Breaking A Monster, dir. Luke Meyer
Of Men and War, dir. Laurent Bécue-Renard
Greetings on Behalf of the People of Our Planet!
with Sam Green & Dave Cerf
Oct 15
Oct 17
Oct 17
Oct 17
Oct 17
Oct 18
Oct 18
Off-CenterSeries Presents: Triumph of Fame
with Marie-Caroline HominalCenterStage LobbyOct 20 to 22
Lecture Committee Presents:
Michael Pollen in Conversation
MainStageOct 20
Cap & Bells Presents:
Frosh Revue 2015
MainStageOct 23 & 24
For more information go to:
http://62center.williams.edu
Or Call:(413) 597-2425
Tuesday-Saturday 1 pm to 5 pm
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