Kibbutz: Soldiers of Dance !!

Ever seen a fashion runway conducted in a militarized style? How about five of them all going at the same time, on the same stage? Well, that's part of what Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Co provided shortly after the beginning and again towards the end of their pounding, in your face performance last Sat Feb 26th at the JCCSF.

Instead of modeling clothes, the dancers were modeling their power - in movement, serious intent, in conformity, non-conformity and in a few happy images and harsh predictions. I've seen fashion runways incorporated into contemporary choreography before, but never quite like this - not this harsh.

There were three dancers assigned to each of the five runway walks. Instead of one model/dancer doing a runway walk alone, five at a time marched to the front stage. At first they merely marched forward to the front of the stage and stopped, again just like runway model. There they turned and headed back to the rear. On other walks they performed dance moves while marching forward. On one of the walks the models/dancers held another dancer as a prisoner. Then almost dragging him/her to the front, threw their dancer/prisoner on the ground, then returning to the rear to begin all over again. The music mostly was harsh, machine like and apocalyptic in nature. The music matched the feeling of the military fashion runway as well.

The dance opened and closed with a chunk of choreography that also had a apocalyptic feeling all about it. The company of dancers were lined up behind one another in a single moving column. They shuffled along in small steps, their feet not really leaving the floor. It was the same column shuffle that was used in the famous Apple Computer Commercial "1984," where all the slaves filed along in orderly zombie-like obedience. (In the commercial the choreography was backed up with words/sounds. In this dance the choreography was backed up with machine like music.) One big difference between the commercial vs this dance march was here the dancers shrugged their right shoulders forward every few seconds and all in perfect unison - in perfect synchronization with one another and with the beat of their machine like music. This part alone was quite impressive and hypnotic to watch. This column shuffled all over the stage, turning at times at right angles. It alone was worth the visit to JCCSF in a cold Saturday evening.

The dance started before it even began for there was dancing to "find your seat by." Really. As the audience was allowed into the auditorium, the curtains were opened about 10 feet wide and a lone female dancer was performing in place w/her contemporary dance steps, rotating, bending her body all about. A lone spotlight, located on the floor, center stage, was shinning directly on her. She was dressed in a bikini like outfit but her entire body was covered in very large brush strokes/splotches of what looked like brown paint or oil/dirt. She never paused and I estimated she had performed her intro dance for at least 30 minutes before rushing back stage to join her company as the curtains opened wide for them to begin their struggle, their show, their dance. "Ekodoom"



This was not a lyical performance of dance and movement. Not alot of grace and elegance as one has come to think of them. This was more of a hard edged abstract piece, alluding with images to our past and future. Images hard to forget. I also noticed that there was not alot of real feminine feelings poring out from the woman dancers, not even in their presence. They seemed as strong and equal to the men dancers and this was evident right from the start.

I saw dancers who looked very solid and tough. They looked serious in appearence and they attacked their choreography. I saw Israelis Dancers attacking their dance like Israelis Soldiers attacking their military duties. That's what I saw. Israel Dancers, like Israel Soldiers, surrounded by conflict, with a few happier, brighter moments scattered about. It was on their faces. In their eyes. In their movements. This group was as much a "company of soldiers" as a "company of dancers."

I sat in the front row, but I believe most of the audience, further back anyway, gave a rousing, standing ovation at the end. I sat. I was unable to stand because I was still trying to absorb what I had just seen. In past history, there have been times when an audience does not give any applause, but remains silent instead. The silence of being so taken of what was witnessed. In other words, the audiance was a bit overtaken, just as in a military operation. That was my reaction with Kibbutz - "My gosh, what have I just witnessed?" And I only wish I could have seen this performance again, but that was not to be. There was only one performance and the dancers, like a compnay of soldiers, were moving out the next morning. And as any good company of soldiers/dancers know, get the job done, move on.

As I left the center, one of the female dancers was taking a smoke break out front in the cold air. I stopped and we spoke a bit. She seemed neither tired nor winded, not in the least bit. She spoke very little English and apologized for not knowing more of my language. I wish I had apologized for not speaking her language. Her name was Dana. Even her voice was low but strong, very steady. She told me she was very happy that I enjoyed their dance. I told her the first contemporary dancer (S.F.) I had ever met, was while that dancer was taking a smoke break under a SF freeway, between the overgrown weeds. She laughed. I mentioned that her paragraph bio in the program was quite small, especially compared to the other dancers. She explained that she is young (one of the younger company members) and that as she gets older, her bio will get longer. It was an encounter of an older military veteran sharing a few words, a few moments, with a young soldier - a young dancer.

I saw a Company of Soldiers as Dancers...
and I was moved !


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