• Text size      
  • Send this article to a friend
  • Print this article

Hora, Edinburgh Playhouse

IT seems wrong to waste the available wordcount, but it would be silly not to acknowledge that three interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the flow of Ohad Naharin's choreography for his Batsheva Dance Company from Israel.

Because it would be equally wrong not to note that the eleven dancers in this international ensemble (a bit like Scottish Ballet, then) simply stopped still until the protesters had been removed and then, calmly and with no little dignity, resumed the complex work they had learned. And Naharin's steps are certainly challenging, borrowing from nightclubbing as much as classical dance, employing animalistic vocabulary and mimetic theatrical shapes. There were virtuosic solos, intimate pas des deux and ensemble pieces for the six women and the five men. As often each dancer had his or her own quite distinct but simultaneous set of movements, but together they were required to switch from bunny hops to arabesques in an instant. None of it was cold, distant or academic, though: this was movement that seemed to be lifted from stuff we know from our own lives, even if we couldn't quite place where or when it was clearly parodic (and much of it was very funny).

Contextual targeting label: 
Arts and Entertainment

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.