Neoclassical to Now: Minus 16 Highlights Ballet San Jose’s Opening Season

The illusion of magnificent beauty in George Balanchine’s ‘‘Serenade,‘‘ the stunning aestheticism of Jorma Elo’s ‘‘Glow-Stop,‘‘ and the perfectly-choreographed energetic pandemonium of Ohad Naharin’s ‘‘Minus 16‘‘ were celebrated this week as part of the 2014 opening season of Ballet San Jose at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts.

A long-time admirer with a bit (or a lot) of snobbishly skeptical attitude (only for  classical ballet), I was totally immersed, surprised, and overwhelmed by the inclusion of Minus 16 in the company’s repertoire for the new season. But ‘‘veni, vidi, vici‘‘ – I came, I saw, I was conquered by its victorious presentation, captivating choreography, potpourri of original and popular music, and superb interpretation of Ohad Naharin’s composition.

According to the program’s notes, Naharin has been hailed as one of the world’s preeminent contemporary choreographers. Born in Israel, where he was raised on a kibbutz until the age of five, he serves as an Artistic Director of the renowned Batsheva Dance Company in Israel since 1990. Naharin has created over 20 works for the company and has successfully guided it with an adventurous creativity of movement he invented and which is now known throughout the world of dance as Gaga (no, not the Lady Gaga you know).

Naharin’s talent was spotted and nurtured by American dance legend Martha Graham, who co-founded Batsheva in 1964 with Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild. Naharin started dancing with the company in the 1970s before going to New York, on Graham’s invitation, to perform with the acclaimed Martha Graham Company. After a year with the company, he continued his studies at the Juilliard School of Music.

‘‘Minus 16’’ by Ohad Naharin has been an audience favorite all over the world. This energetic and humorous piece showcases 16 dark-suited dancers, clad in bowler hats, and seated on a semi-circle of folding chairs (this would make a great Calvin Klein commercial, don’t you think?).

Those of us who stayed in our seats during the intermission were gifted with a surprise 10-minute improvised performance by one of the dancers who, in an impromptu ala Marcel Marceau, Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, and John Travolta, served as an overture to a very versatile ‘‘Minus 16‘‘ ballet to follow.

Set to music ranging from Dean Martin to cha-cha, mambo, techno, and well-known Israeli music, including the traditional Passover song ‘‘Echad Mi Yodea,‘‘ the dancers repeatedly presented the array of movements while calling out praise, ‘‘Shebashamaim uva’aretz!‘‘ Progressively, they dressed and undressed out of their jackets, pants, shoes, and white shirts, which they skillfully flung toward center stage.

‘‘Minus 16‘‘ not only delights in its own wackiness, but also celebrates the joy of dancing,‘‘ said the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘‘Each performance adds a touch of individual creativity and has elements of unpredictability and fun that makes each performance delightfully different.‘‘

As the grand finale approached, the dancers randomly selected 16 members from the audience who proceeded to dance with them on stage creating their own moves to the music of ‘‘Dance with me,‘‘ Chopin’s Nocturne, and Hava Nagila as the entire audience, now on their feet, gave all a prolonged standing ovation. ‘‘Dance is much more universal in that way,‘‘ Naharin said, ‘‘and it’s why I can communicate my dances with people all over the world. Dance is about what unites us, and that has to do with human values, skill, passion and the power of imagination.‘‘

A recipient of numerous prestigious awards, Naharin still approaches each project with a sense of adventure, collaborating with innovative musicians and visual artists. In addition to creating new pieces for Batsheva, he set works on Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballett Frankfurt, Paris Opéra Ballet, Hubbard Street, Cedar Lake, and the Ailey company. Batsheva has performed in Austria, Italy, Belarus, Norway, and France, in addition to its home city of Tel Aviv.

I must admit that it was a sweet ‘‘Minus 16‘‘ — the evening’s piece de resistance stole my heart and it stole the show. If the addition of  ‘‘Minus 16‘‘ expresses the vision, passion, and bravura dancing of Ballet San Jose and Jose Manuel Carreno, its new Artistic Director, then I applaud the company’s leap into an exciting era with its versatile repertoire. Bravo!

Ohad Naharin, now 59, is dedicating all the performances of ‘‘Minus 16‘‘ to his late wife and former Alvin Ailey dancer, Mari Kajiwara who died of cancer in 2001, at the age of 50.

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, not the best of ‘‘balabostas’ her beloved beautiful Mom, Dina, was hoping for. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out.

By Lina Broydo