Image: Arts Centre Melbourne website
The woman queuing in front of me at the box office before Thursday night’s performance of Decadence was adamant she was getting a ticket to the show, even though there were no tickets to be had. ‘I have to see this show,’ she stated, and she refused to budge from her place at the head of the queue until somehow, somewhere, someone managed to source her a ticket.
Similar displays of passion for Batsheva Dance Company rippled through the audience at this one-off Melbourne Festival performance of Decadence.
Batsheva Dance Company, one of the most famous contemporary dance ensembles in the world, has been bringing the best of Israeli contemporary dance choreography and performance to international audiences since the 1970s.
Decadence is a collection of works choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director, Ohad Naharin.
In a strike of theatre-making ingenuity, the performance opens with a little pre-show entertainment from one of the ensemble’s highly talented dancers.
Clad in a full suit and hat, our performer dances energetically to low-volume elevator tunes while the audience streams into the theatre.
This has the effect both of preventing the usually high number of audience lockouts and of gently coaxing the audience into the idea of sitting in silence for the next hour and a half.
The crowd continues to chatter throughout this entrée, reminding us that we are in a living venue and not observing a screen.
The performer places himself at the very front of the stage, ensuring that the first few rows of the audience are all but covered in sweat by the end of his piece. It’s visceral, intimate and inviting.
In contrast, the second piece for the evening commands attention from the start, with the entire ensemble seated in a semicircle around the stage, dressed uniformly in black and white and lit by stark down lights.
It is this piece that confirms we are in the presence of masters of the art; precise staccato movements performed in perfect unison create a mesmerising effect, drawing the audience’s attention to the undulating fresco of bodies.
It’s times like these one wishes one had several pairs of eyes – for to observe the whole as well as the perfect and captivating performance of each individual, one would need to see this piece many times.
The dancers’ movements are high impact and their actions speak of darker themes, which make the piece all the more entrancing.
From this extremely strong starting point, the Batsheva Dance Company leads the audience on a frenetic and mesmerising journey through a range of Naharin’s works.
While it’s clear each performer is incredibly fit and immensely talented, the unconventional choreography rarely allows them to demonstrate their skills in the classical sense.
It’s the control they display while performing seemingly chaotic movements in perfect juxtaposition to one another that reveals their true abilities.
This ensemble is clearly not the place for a budding “star performer” – it’s as collaborative as they come. The Batsheva Dance Company almost breathes in unison, and it’s a delight to observe.
Gender lines are blurred throughout and the choreography contrasts high-energy movement with nothingness in a jolting yet effective way.
From its unassuming opening to frenetic postmodern finale, this work takes the audience on a haphazard journey through five decades of exceptional dance performance and choreography.
It’s a feast verging on an assault on the senses, and one leaves the theatre with the feeling of almost having overindulged – on dance, on life and on an immensely powerful body of work.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5


Decadance
Batsheva Dance Company
Choreographer and Artistic Director: Ohad Naharin
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
15 October
Melbourne Festival
www.festival.melbourne
8-25 October
