Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout his work as a choreographer and Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company. Gaga has two tracks: Gaga/dancers, which is the daily training of Batsheva Dance Company members, now taught also for other dancers in Israel and abroad; and Gaga/people, open to the public and available for anyone at any age, without the necessity of previous experience. Gaga classes are held for a growing number of people in the Suzanne Dellal Centre and at additional places in the country and abroad.
"Gaga challenges multi-layer tasks.
We are aware of the connection between effort and pleasure, we are aware of the distance between our body parts, we are aware of the friction between flesh and bones, we sense the weight of our body parts, yet, our form is not shaped by gravity... we are aware of where we hold unnecessary tension, we let go only to bring life and efficient movement to where we let go . . . We are turning on the volume of listening to our body, we appreciate small gestures, we are measuring and playing with the texture of our flesh and skin, we might be silly, we can laugh at ourselves. We connect to the sense of "plenty of time”, especially when we move fast, We learn to love our sweat, we discover our passion to move and connect it to effort, We discover both the animal we are and the power of our imagination. we are "body builders with soft spine". We learn to appreciate understatement and exaggeration, We become more delicate and we recognize the importance of the flow of energy and information through our body in all directions. we learn to apply our force in an efficient way and we learn to use "other" forces.
We discover the advantage of soft flesh and sensitive hands, we learn to connect to groove even when there is no music. We are aware of people in the room and we realize that we are not in the center of it all. We become more aware of our form since we never look at ourselves in a mirror; there are no mirrors. We connect to the sense of the endlessness of possibilities.
Yielding is constant while we are ready to snap...
We explore multi-dimensional movement, we enjoy the burning sensation in our muscles, we are aware of our explosive power and sometimes we use it. We change our movement habits by finding new ones, we can be calm and alert at once.
We become available . . ."
- Ohad Naharin
Gaga is an experience of freedom and pleasure. The work improves instinctive movement and connects conscious and unconscious movement, and it allows for an experience of freedom and pleasure in a simple way, in a pleasant space, in comfortable clothes, accompanied by music, each person with himself and others.
GAGA in New York
Read more about Gaga
Article 1
Article 2