JUNE / JULY 2017 | WWW.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU77
Adelaide Festival 2017
JÉRÔME BEL: GALA
SCOTT THEATRE
L-E-V: KILLER PIG AND OCD LOVE
HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE
MARCHA program that explores the possibilities of the form.•
EILArmfieldandRachelHealey’sfirstAdelaide
FestivalofArtshasbeenatriumph,notonlyatthebox
office,butalsointermsofitsdanceprogramming.
Coveringaspectrumfromtheepic(CrystalPite’s
Betroffenheit)totheminiature(RestlessDance
Theatre’sIntimate Spaces), from the virtuosic (L-E-V)
totheeveryday(Restlessagain),andfromself-
expression (Gala)totranscendence(Dancenorth’sfabuloustrance-
dance,Attractor), this program has explored the possibilities offered
bytheform.TheIsraelicompanyL-E-VandFrenchchoreographer
JérômeBeloccupyoppositeendsofthisspectrum:theformer
epitomisinghyper-virtuosity,thelatteradeepphilosophical
investigation into the nature of performance itself.
L-E-V,theHebrewwordforheart,isdirectedbySharonEyal,
formerly a long-standing dancer, house choreographer and associate
director of Batsheva Dance Company, and her collaborator Gai Behar,
aproduceroftechnoravesandothermulti-mediaevents.Thethird
memberofthecreativeteam,OriLichtik,aDJ/musicianfromIsrael’s
technoscene,createsalivesoundscapetoeachshow.Thetrio
launched L-E-V, largely composed of Batsheva alumni, in 2013.
In Adelaide they presented two works:Killer Pig,billedasaglimpse
intotheoriginsofthegroup–“aplaceofminimalistexpression,intense
honesty and uncompromising physicality”– andOCD Love,awork
about “love that always misses”, partly inspired by Neil Hilborn’s poem
“OCD”,whichdepictsthedestructionofaromanticrelationshipbythe
author’s obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Killer Pigopensonadarkenedstageswirlingwithdryice.Down
spotsgraduallypickoutahuddleoffivedancers–threewomenand
twomen–wearingbeigeleotardsandhigh-waistedunderpants
respectively,whoenmassetaketinystepsondemi-pointeaccompanied
bysmallhandgesturesandshouldermovementsofgreateramplitude.
Amaledancerbreaksfromthehuddle,performinganextendedsolo
thatshowcaseshisastonishingflexibility.Variousgroupingsensue,with
canonusedeffectively,asthedancersbreakoutofandreturntothe
primalhorde.Themovementvocabularyisanamalgamofballet,with
muchuseofarmsencouronne,sautés,poséturnsandretirés,moves
from techno dance including popping, chest pumping, and hip
swivelling, along with hinges and use of gesture derived from
contemporary dance.
Thedancersweresuperb,seeminglywithnolimitstotheirtechnical
abilities, speed or precision, especially the men, who were phenomenal.
Although the loud techno beat is relentless, it suits the work, which
seemedlikeatheatricalversionofaraveparty.
SeeingOCD Lovethe following night, however, revealed the
company’slimitations.Althoughthesubjectoftheworkisdifferent,the
soundtrack,visualaestheticandmovementpaletteareverysimilar,
albeit with more emphasis on gestural tics as theOCDdancers slap
andgrabatthemselves.Thistimethewomenarecladinblackleotards
and long black socks, and the men variously in black leggings, a very
distracting thong, and underpants.N
Jérôme Bel’sGala.PHOTO: TONY LEWIS