Batsheva Dance Company: Max

(The opening tableau of Batsheva's Max, choreographed by Ohad Naharin. Photo: Julietta Cervantes)

Wed, Mar 4 - Raw and absolutely thrilling. Ohad Naharin and Batsheva's dancers created a work that was uninhibited and forceful: the dancers were engaging and fascinating to watch, and the choreography was surprising at every turn. The curtain goes up on the company with the men squatting in front of the women, who are standing and facing the audience with blank stares. There is a period of silence, then, suddenly, with a loud thud, the men tip over onto one knee. The sudden noise and movement, even as small as they are, comes as a bit of a shock to the senses. The men reset themselves, then suddenly it happens again to the other side.

Such jolts occur throughout the Max in different ways: in one part, a woman walking around the stage randomly stops and flinches. She continues walking and others join her on stage – they too suddenly stop and flinch. The remarkable thing is that I found myself physically flinching as well, yet there was no loud noise or flash of light, just dancers bodies on a big stage. I can't remember ever having had such a visceral reaction to a moment of dance.

(Photo: Gadi Dagon)

There were moments of all-out dancing, too. The dance moments tended to be very athletic, full-bodied, and harried. Dancers rushed around the stage, jerky movements were heavily punctuated, the extensions and jumps extreme. Sweat was often pouring off of the dancers' bodies at the end of these extended sequences.

I can't say that there was a particular through-line or particular point. I found that it was better to turn my linear brain off for a moment and simply accept the barrage of imagery coming from the stage. The piece was only an hour long, but it was nevertheless an exhilarating experience.