{"id":8798,"date":"2014-10-31T00:09:13","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T07:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=8798"},"modified":"2014-10-29T13:40:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T20:40:58","slug":"l-e-v-part-of-the-changing-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/10\/31\/l-e-v-part-of-the-changing-world\/","title":{"rendered":"L-E-V: Part of the changing world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s L-E-V is at the Playhouse Nov. 14-15. (photo by Gadi Dagon)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It feels like it\u2019s all been leading up to this. In 2009, Israel\u2019s Batsheva Dance Company performed at DanceHouse. In 2013, Norway\u2019s Carte Blanche brought Corps de Walk<\/em>, a work commissioned from former Batsheva dancer and choreographer Sharon Eyal and her partner Gai Behar, to DanceHouse. And, in two weeks, Eyal and Behar\u2019s own troupe, L-E-V, will be at DanceHouse to perform House<\/em>, a piece originally imagined for Batsheva.<\/p>\n

The multiple-award-winning Eyal danced with Batsheva from 1990 until 2008, served as its associate artistic director from 2003-2004 and as house choreographer from 2005-2012. She began choreographing works for other companies in 2009, including Killer Pig<\/em> (2009) and Corps de Walk<\/em> (2011) for Carte Blanche. Eyal and Behar launched L-E-V in 2013, with musician, drummer and DJ Ori Lichtik an integral part of the creative team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first saw the work of Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar in 2011 at Jacob\u2019s Pillow Dance Festival [in Becket, Mass.], and it was unlike anything else I have seen before \u2013 and I have seen a lot of dance,\u201d said Jim Smith, producer at DanceHouse, in an interview with the Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen L-E-V had its U.S. debut, the New York Times<\/em> referred to House<\/em> as \u2018a Hieronymous Bosch painting of an extraterrestrial rave.\u2019 Visually, you can see these two very contrasting images at play together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the work being created by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar is very much of our time, as they appear to represent a cross-disciplinary confluence of movement, music, lighting, fashion, art and technology. And this very much appears to be part of the changing world around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

DanceHouse, which has \u201chas taken on presenting larger scale dance works (i.e. larger number of performers and\/or work requiring a significant level of technical support) that are recognized to be touring internationally,\u201d presents \u201ca mix of both Canadian and international companies and artists,\u201d said Smith. \u201cWe are part of a larger national dance touring network that includes such organizations as Danse Danse in Montreal, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Harborfront in Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before its arrival in Vancouver on this fall tour, L-E-V will have performed House<\/em> in Mexico (Guanajuato, M\u00e9rida and Le\u00f3n), Calgary and Ottawa. After Vancouver, it heads to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The blurb on the DanceHouse website reads: \u201cWith a sensibility seen here in 2013\u2019s Corps de Walk<\/em>, House<\/em>\u2019s fiercely talented dancers move with expressive precision as they explore what a house truly is: a home, a club, an asylum, a way station.\u201d<\/p>\n

House<\/em> was first commissioned by the Batsheva Dance Company in 2011. It has developed since then.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanges always happen in the piece; it can only be an eye, movement or breathing, but there will always be more layers and renewals,\u201d Eyal told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cThe work is dynamic and alive, so is the music. You can always grow and add a new dimension, it is our fun. It\u2019s not like in a museum \u2013 the ones who make it are people and each moment they feel something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

A combination of \u201ca lot of talent\u201d and \u201cexhausting work alongside endless happiness,\u201d L-E-V is seeing success. \u201cThe company is currently touring many places in the world and receives recognition and a lot of love,\u201d said Eyal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the dancers, we began with eight dancers and reduced it to six. Now we have become more exact and effective. The dancers are wonderful and do not cease to amaze, develop and become more sophisticated. Each one of them is a different star in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to present the work of Eyal with her own company of dancers is a way of giving a great range of exposure to her for Vancouver audiences,\u201d said Smith. \u201cShe is of a generation and stage of development in her career as such dance artists as Barak Marshall, Wayne McGregor, Benjamin Millepied, Hofesh Shechter, and even Vancouver\u2019s own Crystal Pite, all of whom are making big waves in the international world of dance, and all of whom have been presented on the DanceHouse stage in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a relatively short time since leaving Batsheva, Eyal has enjoyed a meteoric rise both as a choreographer for hire and also with her new company of dancers, many of whom are ex-Batsheva dancers. In 2013, Eyal\u2019s company made its North American debut [with House<\/em>] at Jacob\u2019s Pillow and this past summer was programmed at the prestigious Montpellier Danse festival in France.\u201d<\/p>\n

DanceHouse generally presents four productions a season at the Vancouver Playhouse and one in partnership with other presenters at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at Simon Fraser University, explained Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cDanceHouse aims to reflect the range and diversity of the different stylistic approaches being seen in the development of dance as an art form. In many ways, we think about DanceHouse as providing a window on the international world of dance \u2013 with dance being a reflection on the world we live \u2013 like other art forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

House<\/em> is at the Vancouver Playhouse Nov. 14 and 15, 8 p.m., with a pre-show talk at 7:15 p.m. For more information and tickets, as well as information on other DanceHouse offerings, visit dancehouse.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s L-E-V is at the Playhouse Nov. 14-15. (photo by Gadi Dagon) It feels like it\u2019s all been leading up to this. In 2009, Israel\u2019s Batsheva Dance Company performed at DanceHouse. In 2013, Norway\u2019s Carte Blanche brought Corps de Walk, a work commissioned from former Batsheva dancer and choreographer Sharon Eyal and her partner Gai […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[2343,2345,2346,2344],"class_list":["post-8798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-dancehouse","tag-jim-smith","tag-l-e-v","tag-sharon-eyal"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}