The incredibly talented dance troupe Batsheva is one of Israel’s most successful and recognizable cultural exports. They are highly regarded by modern dance lovers the world over (and also by those folks who don’t know their pirouette from their pivot turn).

On the two occasions that I have scored tickets to a show, I have sat in my seat transfixed by the motions of the dancers’ bodies. It’s something you really have to experience to believe.

These unique dance movements are the product of a technique known as “Gaga”, and created by Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of Batsheva.

He first came upon the concept of Gaga while suffering an injury, and was forced to find new ways to move his body while dealing with pain.

Gaga is now the daily routine Batsheva dancers go through as training and rehearsal. It is a technique rooted in unblocking the body, freeing dancers to move with unprecedented control and releasing untapped reserves of agility and metaphysical connection.

Now this technique is being brought to the wider world.

New Yorkers have the opportunity to try Gaga at a series of classes at the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet facility in Chelsea.

Naharin has sent two assistants to New York to teach classes in his original Gaga technique, while the man himself will be arriving to teach at the end of March.

Not only will Naharin be teaching Gaga classes, but also the Cedar Lake contemporary ballet company themselves, who will be performing his full-company piece DECADANCE from June 22.

Gaga technique classes will be taught at Cedar Lake from March 7 through April 27. Classes are between 60 and 75 minutes in length (60 minutes for non-dancers, 75 minutes for dancers), with a few classes taught by Ohad Naharin between March 29 and 31.

The cost per individual class is $12 and classes will take place at CEDAR LAKE: 547 West 26 Street, New York, NY 10001. For more information please visit
visit www.cedarlakedance.com.

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