Repertoire

Perpetuum

Ohad Naharin

A work created by Ohad Naharin in 1992, based on music by the younger Johann Strauss, “And then the waltzes appear. Johann Strauss´ waltzes: balanced, twirling and swirling and melting like bitter caramel in one’s mouth. In contrast to the very familiar setting surrounding this music, Ohad Naharin has let his humor run wild...”

  • World premiere by: Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Génève (Switzerland), January 1992
  • Premiere by Compañía Nacional de Danza: at Teatro Real de Madrid, Madrid (Spain), April 30th 2003
Perpetuum-portada

With the sound of the zesty and zany waltzes, the dancers and spectators find themselves enveloped in a whirlwind of gang, sarcasm and color. A parody on the theatre, opera, the bourgeois, and dance. It is one of Ohad Naharin’s most colorful and surprising works, with costumes by Rakefet Levy and lights by Bambi. The piece was written in 1992 for the Grand Théâtre de Génève and since then has been performed by numerous dance companies in Europe with tremendous success.

In Israel, Perpetuum has been performed on special occasions such as the inauguration of the Festival of Israel, in 1992, and the opening of the Centre of Performing Arts in Tel-Aviv in 1993. The Batsheva Dance Companystaged Perpetuum again in 1999 in co-production with Austria’sSt. Polten Festpielhaus. “In the first place I am captivated by movement and action. I’m also exploring the proximity of form and content. I’m intrigued by the uncertainty arising from the grey zones between the pure and the corrupt, between the expected and the unexpected, between the intended and the final results.”

Perpetuum is a piece showing that my work often deals with casting off weight, and that I consider levity a virtue, not a defect (Ohad Naharin, May 2002).

Información

  • Choregraphy:
    Ohad Naharin
  • Music:
    Johann Strauss (1825-1899)
  • Musical performance:
    Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Pedro Alcalde (Conductor)
  • Staging:
    Yoshifumi Inao y Adi Salant
  • Set Design:
    Arik Levi
  • Costume Design:
    Rakefet Levi
  • Lighting Design:
    Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)
  • Set and costumes made by:
    Batsheva Dance Company
  • Running time:
    26 minutes
  • Premiere cast CND:
    Tamako Akiyama, Clyde Archer, Luisa María Arias, José Carlos Blanco, See Boon Kuik, Fabrice Edelmann, África Guzmán, Christelle Horna, Cristina Hortigüela, Marina Jiménez, Emilija Jovanovic, Miriam Keschermann, Dimo Kirilov, Thomas Klein, Amaury Lebrun, Ana Mª López, Ruth Maroto, Yolanda Martín, Luis Martín Oya, Isaac Montllor, Rafael Rivero, Jens Rosen, Nadja Sellrup, Joel Toledo, Jacek Tyski