Two young female choreographers fulfil promise with Batsheva Dance Company at Springdance Festival

With two performances, "The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act" and "House", Batsheva Dance Company shows impressive, sublime dance mastery and fresh dynamics. But also restlessness, searching and confusion. The era of happy, harmonious dance is over.

A lecture on dance, prior to the performance, highlights that contemporary dance does not have to compulsively oppose other dance movements. This artistic freedom was on show with the performance "The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act" by Yasmeen Godder and "House" by Sharon Eyal/Gai Behar danced by Batsheva Dance Company.

This dance company was once founded by Baroness Bathsheva de Rothschild and the name bathsheva means something like 'vow fulfilled' or 'woman of oath'. If the vow is leading dance making, it is fulfilled. Yasmeen Godder has her own company, but made a production for Batsheva Dance Company by invitation. Sharon Eyal, on the other hand, is resident choreographer at Bathsheva and will soon start her own company with Gai Behar. She will also create a work for Nederlands Dans Theater II, which considers Batsheva a member of its artistic family.

The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act is inspired by a photographic work by Viviane Sassen, which presents a new, truer vision of African man. The show suddenly opens with a dark man standing in front of a wide, wooden panel looking wonderingly into the audience. He immediately sets the course by exploring his body with rock-solid technique, which will be followed by four other dancers. Although Godder has not developed her own dance technique, her dance is based on many techniques such as Gaga (an expression of freedom and pleasure) by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva.

The performance is impressive for a long time because of its sublime dance mastery. Do dance terms like 'contractions' and 'extensions' already exist, because of the ever-surprising formation of patterns, 'inventions' can be added to this. The concept of wanting to exhibit or hide yourself is simplistically made clear (jumper or plant over the head) or by using the other as a distraction. Downside is that everything takes place in one imagined location and variety is lacking.

House is also based on photographs, in this case of families. From darkness and smoke looms a dancer in black latex with puritanical, white trim. She, as it were, stitches the dancers together as material, choreographer Sharon Eyal explains afterwards, performing between sections of group dance. Sharon herself is this dancer and changes her costume as she goes along. She discards a repressive religion (the collar) and even in the dancers the top, classical layer can be peeled off to show a more raw side.

The changeover to the first group dance is beautiful: 10 plastic dancers under a yellow lamp perform staccato 'isolations' in a kind of tribal dance to heighten the tension. Despite absence of urban dance styles, the same fresh dynamics can be felt. 'I just do whatever comes to mind in terms of movement,' says the choreographer. She is assisted by composer Ori Lichtik who provides counter-rhythmic enrichment alongside a pumping beat. Other dance parts feel like works by Martha Graham, once attached to Bathsheva as a consultant.

'Maximum is minimum,' states the choreographer, and she is particularly concerned with feeling through forms and movement. If you want to see a dance performance as an actual representation of a society, it is one of turmoil, searching and confusion. Dancers as a group of aliens, a bearded woman and man in high heels, sexual alienation: the era of happy, harmonious dance is over.

Ruben Brugman