Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout many years, working as a choreographer and the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company. Gaga originated from Naharin’s need to communicate with his dancers and his curiosity while researching the movements.
Gaga classes are based on a deep listening to the body and physical sensations. The instructions are developed in order to increase awareness about sensation, as well as further growth of the same, building into a multisensory an physically challenging experience. While many instructions are permeated with rich imagination, the Gaga research is based on physical condition, insisting on a specific process of embodiment. Improvisational nature of the exploration enables each participant’s deeply personal connection with Gaga within this research.
Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening the body and better flexibility, endurance, agility and skills including coordination and efficiency while stimulating the senses and imagination. The classes offer a workout that investigates form, speed and effort while traversing additional spectra such as those between soft and thick textures, delicacy and explosive power, understatement and exaggeration. Participants awaken numb body parts, increase their awareness of habits and improve their efficiency of movement inside multilayered tasks. They are encouraged to accept moments of effort with pleasure. The language of Gaga is in a continual process of evolution, and the classes vary and develop depending on the process.
Gaga has two tracks: Gaga/people and Gaga/dancers.
Gaga/dancers is open to professional dancers and dance students. Gaga/dancers class will be held in the Egység Cultural Station on 20 October at 7 p.m.
The instructor of the workshop in the Egység Cultural Station will be Ido Gidron from Israel. Ido graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance High School. He works as a teacher of the Gaga language of Ohad Naharin in Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv, Studio Naim and holds workshops in Berlin. From 2014 until 2017 he was part of the Batsheva Dance Company. He served in the IDF as a privileged outstanding dancer and danced for KCDC 2 for the 2013 – 2014 season. Ido is a choreographer and a performer in the independent project of Maya Michlal-Gelfand, as well as in many other projects. In the period 2011 – 2013 he participated in the summer course of The Juilliard School in New York and the Batsheva Excellence Programme.
In order to participate in Gaga/dancers class it is necessary to fill in application, and all interested dancers can find the application form here.
Gaga/dancers class is organised by the Embassy of Israel with the support of ‘Novi Sad – European Capital of Culture’ project.
