For 28 years, Naharin has guided the Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv with an adventurous artistic vision that defines its repertory. Naharin is the originator of Gaga, a movement language that has revolutionized dance and emerged as a growing force in the larger field of movement practices for both dancers and non-dancers.
The Hole, originally created for Batsheva Dance Company was never intended to leave Tel Aviv: “When I created The Hole, I told my team that they should prepare for a work that will never tour, that it will never leave our studio (where we performed it)”, says Naharin. “It is too complicated production wise, I thought. NDT proved me wrong. They managed what was impossible for us.” The work demands for the space to be completely transformed, constructing an elevated stage in the centre, erecting walls behind the audience and even hanging a metal grid from the ceiling on which dancers climb and from which they suspend. Naharin’s play with different perspectives borders on the cinematic, in which all dimensions of the space are utilized. Naharin: “When I am asked what The Hole is about, my first answer is that the work is about itself; about how all its elements meet to create a collective narrative about the sublimation of each dancer’s madness, passion, and fantasy into a clear form (…) The Hole is a particular space with its own codes, and you are invited into it.”
