Headed by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, L-E-V is an audacious and provocative new Israeli company. L-E-V’s fiercely talented dancers (including Eyal) lure audiences into “a Hieronymous Bosch painting of an extraterrestrial rave.” House is an extreme close-up, a fragmented, cinematic collage of images of human relationships that flicker and vanish. It delves fearlessly into the realms of the twisted, the disturbing, the grotesque. The dance is precise, hypnotic, fiercely controlled, all nerve, bone, and sinew. The music by Ori Lichtik is vibrant, accompanying dark, androgynous dream-scenes that connect like a psychological labyrinth. L-E-V performs House in the Theatre of the National Arts Centre on Tuesday November 11 at 7:30 p.m. NOTE: performance contains adult themes and content.

The curtain opens on a dusky cloud – one writhing figure visible only from the shimmer on her black leatherette body. Now liquid, now lurching, she winds through twilight towards us, clawing and morphing. With her oil-slick catsuit and her angular, broken gestures, she’s a vogueing club queen. More dim light blooms and she fades into a crowd in nude bodysuits, who flex in low second-position plié, their bony pelvises jutting, shifting in and out like pistons in a machine. One woman stalks forward, every second step jerking out of joint. She looks like a sexy stop-motion dinosaur. Light transfixes one figure so that her enormous quivering shadow stands on each side of the auditorium – a figment of another world cast into ours. House features fantastic design: stunning lighting by Avi Yona Bueno and costumes by Ma’ayan Goldman and Odelia Arnold.

Brian Seibert wrote in The New York Times (July 26, 2013), “The company is new but it has a defined style that it takes most troupes years to develop. Ms. Eyal, who dances apart from the others, remains a striking performer. Her dancers are also incredible.” Renowned dance critic Deborah Jowitt wrote in DanceBeat (July 30, 2013), “Who are these creatures? They move so fluidly that they appear boneless – they are the stunning members of L-E-V. No move these people make looks exactly like something you’ve seen before.”

 

ABOUT L-E-V
L-E-V is an adventurous new ensemble, the culmination of years of collaboration between two Israeli creative superstars. Since 2006, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar have created a stream of critically acclaimed original works for some of the world’s leading dance companies, including Batsheva Dance Company. Sharon Eyal is an award-winning choreographer and captivating performer. She was a dancer with Batsheva Dance Company from 1990 to 2008, served as Associate Artistic Director in 2003-04, and assumed the role of House Choreographer in 2005. Gai Behar produced live music, techno raves, and underground art events in Tel Aviv before joining Eyal. Their integration of technology and dance is equally suited for the concert hall stage or a techno club. This explosive company is the confluence of movement, music, lighting, fashion, art and technology – each uniquely expressive while emotionally entertwined.

 

ABOUT HOUSE

HOUSE (2013)
ChoreographY Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar

LIGHTING DESIGN Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)

SOUND ARTIST Ori Lichtik

FASHION Ma’ayan Goldman

Duration: 55 minutes, no intermission.

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES

 

L-E-V performs House in the Theatre of the National Arts Centre on Tuesday November 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40, $45, $53, and $61 for adults and $22, $24.50, $28.50, and $32.50 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).

 

Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call

613 947-7000 x634, or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

 

Tickets are available for purchase:

in person at the NAC Box Office
at all Ticketmaster outlets *
by telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS)
online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (http://www.nac-cna.ca) *
 

* A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster.