The Public Reviews (The Lowry) Sally Cinnamon 3.11.12
‘The talent, maturity and complexity of the dancer’s abilities belie their tender age. Dancer, Oz Shoshan prologues the show as the audience filters to their seats. He’s dancing alone on stage. It looks improvised, it might be choreographed, either way, it’s the best opening I’ve seen in recent years and a sample of things to come.
There’s a wry sense of mischief in Shoshan’s performance as well as remarkable skill and poise and I can’t help salivating. I am not disappointed. The show is wonderfully anarchic, spiritual, beautiful, moving and hilarious. The pieces are explosive and charming concurrently and, even though sometimes they may not fuse together as a whole menu, they are, individually, delicious.’
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TV Bomb Magazine 4.11.12
‘Unity is the main focus of Ohad Naharin’s company. Unity of form and purpose are at the centre of Batsheva’s thinking and the bringing together of the company members to both powerful and bewitching effect en masse often makes them seem more of a living organism than a dance company. A troupe of flirtatious women on a night out, a line of malfunctioning automata and a platoon of what appear to be rabbinical students are just some of the massed ranks on offer. The latter are used first to create a dance hall setting, bringing up to the stage some delighted, but bewildered audience members, before they switch tone completely to create a commanding, almost threatening, ending.’
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Exeunt Magazine, Lucy Ribchester 2.11.2012
‘Going to see the Israeli dance troupe Batsheva is an interesting experience; audience members must first cut a path through the protesters and there are recurrent interruptions to the show. It’s testament to the energy, passion and wit of the Batsheva Ensemble, the junior wing of Batsheva Dance Company, that they are able to maintain their magnetic pull over the crowd while protester after protester is ejected from the auditorium.’
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The Public Reviews, (Edinburgh Festival Theatre) Jonathan Goat 2.11.2012
‘One is swept along in a maelstrom of self-doubt, sensationalism, subtlety and genuine beauty as he oscillates between all manner of moods; through this a coherent whole is created from a patchwork of previous excerpts. The arrangement of the compilation is so successful that one could easily have mistaken Deca Dance to be a stand alone effort. It is no surprise: a hallmark of Naharin’s choreography is his exceptional storytelling ability. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on the importance of narrative as means of creative organisation. Though the content is not always obvious, one can feel how the various narrative drives form the backbones of their respective pieces.’
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