The second opus of her cycle after ocd love, love chapter 2 shows sharon eyal and gai behar starting their world again to question modern solitude and its corollary, the lack of connection. When israeli dance company lev brings its two companion pieces to the edinburgh international festival this month, therell be a lot of love in the room but also a lot of speed linked under the heading love cycle, ocd love and love chapter 2 will be performed with choreographer sharon eyal s trademark. Every last word by tamara ireland stone, ocd love story by corey ann haydu, the unlikely hero of room b by teresa toten, th. Chaillot presents sharon eyal and gai behars love cycle opening with ocd love. The 2020 programme will be announced in the spring. The israeli dancemaker cofounded lev dance company, which performed eyals ocd love at sadlers wells in 2016. Rebecca hytting, doug letheren, leo lerus, gon biran, keren lurie ocd love trailer 1 on vimeo join. That thought came to me as i watched a wonderful dance work created by sharon eyal and gai behar. Now in its sixth year, national youth dance company returns to sadlers wells with the premiere of a new work created by the 201718 guest artistic director sharon eyal. It is inspired by slam poet neil hilborns brutally funny ocd, which describes a woman charmed then exasperated by the inescapable obsessions of her partner.
Sharon eyal s love chapter 2 is a spellbinding and provocative dance that stares unflinchingly at isolation and loneliness. However, ocd love suffers from the movieafterthe book conundrum. The performance is based on a book by poet neil hilborn who suffers from an. Israels lev dance company is performing a double bill called love cycle at the sydney opera house. The work is episodic, the scenes capped by nofuss blackouts, the music by ori lichtik at the mixer, is pulsing hi. Lev dance companys name includes reference to the hebrew word for heart lev, so perhaps it rather appropriate choreographers sharon eyal and gai behar turn to it as the theme of a work. The story about a failed love is out of step, dark and desperate yet also a poetic, conciliatory and erotic vision of the. Sharon eyal is a member of the israeli choreographers association. Based on american poet neil hilborns ocd, ocd love is the creation of choreographer sharon eyal and multimedia stage designer gai. How does one authentically portray the oppression and isolation of. Ocd love relies on innovative music made by disc jocky. Six dancers shuffle and sway their way through an hour of dance, never leaving the stage, never letting up.
Star of israels thriving dance scene, sharon eyal presents the london premiere of lev dance company, whose name nods to the hebrew word for heart. Artist and choreographer sharon eyal has taken her inspiration from the poem ocd obsessive compulsive disorder by north american poet neil hilborn, on love through the eyes of a person suffering from an obsessive compulsive disorder. The piece is about lovers out of sync viewed through the lens of obsessivecompulsive disorder. Her show, ocd love, is a choreographic distillation of elegant sensuality. Israeli choreographer sharon eyal, a former batsheva dance company member, and gai behar have identified with neil hilborns ocd obsessivecompulsive.
Jan 31, 2019 lev dance company will make its thrilling sydney opera house debut this january, performing two complementary but standalone shows as part of love cycle. No matter how often i replay it in my mind, and no matter what generous evaluative criteria i consider, ocd love is a bewildering disappointment. This seems to be the question that sharon eyal is asking the audience, with her lev dance company founded together with gai behar and ori lichtik. Six dancers move as one in sharon eyal s gravely beautiful exploration of the obsessivecompulsive state. Linked under the title love cycle, sharon eyal s ocd love and love chapter 2 for her and gai behars lev dance company are jammed full of her trademarks. Contemporary dance often digs into the human psyche for its subject matter, and in todays world this includes more complex states of mental and emotional conditions as was depicted by. Love chapter 2 builds on those themes with an even darker take on loneliness, despair and the search for connection, in eyal and behars trademark clublike atmosphere, enhanced with a score by music. Ocd love a powerful international festival debut by le. Eyal szerint a love chapter 2 egy utobetegseg, miutan mar minden elveszett. When sharon eyal first encountered neil hilborns poem ocd, she felt she had stumbled upon a soul mate in the author. Ocd love, is an intensely kinetic dance piece that collides together frenzied passion and obsessivecompulsive disorder. Theres very little in the way of obvious, traditional love either. Love cycl e allows the audience to watch the two works, which are connected in a very instinctive way, leading the viewer to experience and feel the creators different approach about lov e.
Lev ocd love trailer sadler s wells sadlers wells theatre. Thats how i felt watching ocd love, a work by sharon eyal and gai behars company lev. Based on american poet neil hilborns ocd, ocd love is the creation of choreographer sharon eyal and. All told, he records hours of music for eyal and behar to choose from for each piece. This is a piece about love that always misses, or lovers who keep missing each other, out of sync. In the poem, which is presented in a type of slam session, hilborn.
Nevertheless, love chapter 2, the second of two standalone pieces that make up eyals love cycle the previous one, ocd love, premiered at sadlers wells two years ago, is well worth seeing, and at 55 minutes straight through, an intense, if bleak, experience. The work was triggered by american slam poet neil hilborns 20 viral sensation ocd after a friend introduced eyal to it. Oct 22, 2015 when sharon eyal first encountered neil hilborns poem ocd, she felt she had stumbled upon a soul mate in the author. Chaillot presents sharon eyal and gai behars love cycle opening with ocd. Jun 26, 2018 the canadian premiere of acclaimed israeli dance troupe lev companys latest project, provocatively titled ocd love, had some raving about what they had seen and others scratching their heads. Experimental theater at the national theater, taipei november 5, 2017. Mar 16, 2018 ocd love is an intensely kinetic dance piece from lev dance company set to the pulsating techno beats of dj ori lichtik, colliding together frenzied passion and obsessivecompulsive disorder. This powerful dance performance throbs with ori lichtiks techno beats. What there is is a lot of struggle struggle to love and struggle to be without love. Ocd love, with its focus on the heart through the lens of obsessivecompulsive disorder, elicited critical and audience praise alike in 2016. Ocd love is about love, about love that always misses, or lovers who keep missing each other. Specially composed for bold tendencies, parts of love brings together elements from ocd love 2016 and love chapter 2 2018, as well as new material. A love chapter 2 folytatasa az ocd lovenak, melyben a szerelem egy artalmas es pusztito betegsegkent jelent meg.
Ocd love, inspired by spoken word poet, examines mental. Since 2006, collaborators sharon eyal and gai behar have been a significant voice in the artistic community, creating a continuous stream of critically acclaimed original works for dance companies around the world. Choreographer sharon eyal brings two highenergy works to the festival this year. Love cycl e allows the audience to watch the two works, which are connected in a very instinctive way, leading the viewer to experience and feel the creators different approach about lov. Cofounder, coartistic director and choreographer of lev sharon eyal was born in jerusalem. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Discover the best obsessive compulsive disorder in best sellers. Ocd love explores the tribulations of a relationship complicated by obsessive love, taking inspiration from slam poet neil hilborns searingly honest work, ocd.
Following a successful international tour, sharon eyal and lev dance company bring their ocd love show to haifa. In taking her title from and explicitly acknowledging the inspiration of neil hilborns viral ocd slam poetry video, eyal sets herself up for a tough comparison. Lev company poses tough ocd love to its banff audience. It also provides great advice for learning how to cope with the challenges and frustrations that loving someone with ocd imposes on you, as well as advice about how to support and help your loved one live more peacefully with ocd. Alistair spalding in conversation with artistic director sharon eyal. Following her guest artistic direction of nydc, sadlers wells newest associate artist sharon eyal brings lev, the. May 07, 2018 however, ocd love suffers from the movieafterthe book conundrum. Ocd love a powerful international festival debut by lev dance. Blending striking imagery with intoxicatingly powerful movement, the work explores what we are left with when our connection to each other breaks down. But choreographers sharon eyal and gai behar nevertheless are trying to express empathy in their dance work ocd love.
How does one authentically portray the oppression and isolation of mental illness. Lev dance company, the name of which includes the hebrew word for heart lev. In the same way that this ultimately destructive behaviour is an external sign of. And it is matters of the heart that form the theme of the brand new lev creation ocd love the work also deals with ocd, obsessivecompulsive disorder, which repeatedly poses challenges for love and for life. This event was part of a previous international festival and is therefore unavailable to book. Ocd love description star of israels thriving dance scene, sharon eyal presents the london premiere of lev dance company, whose name nods to the hebrew word for heart. A hypnotic dance where movement fills the absences. The other chief interest is the obsessivecompulsive disorder, which hinders love. Meanwhile, ocd love does indeed investigate obsessive compulsive disorder.
Love chapter 2 is lev dance companys most recent work, premiered in 2017. Like one person comes to bed and the other gets up. The name ocd love alludes to the obsessivecompulsive disorder, which. The creation is about love, about love that always misses, or lovers who keep missing each other. Founded in 20 by sharon eyal and gai behar, the lev dance company of israel make their uk debut with this spiritually festering sextet. Israels lev dance company was formed in 20 by choreographer sharon eyal a former dancer and much admired choreographer with. Ritual, repetitive poses render the body fluid and sinewy. National youth dance company sharon eyal used to be.
Love chapter 2 pushes romantic turmoil to raw and anguishing extremes to create a dark, provocative work examining the breakdown of love. A name worth taking note of evening standard, eyal is one of the most exciting female choreographers working today. Ocd love and love chapter 2, first and second parts. National youth dance company sharon eyal sadlers wells. Its about love that always misses, or lovers who keep. Love chapter 2 is the second episode of the ongoing creation called love cycle, made by sharon eyal uniquely for the company.
Working with multimedia designer gai behar, she formed lev dance company, creating work that is stark, uncompromising and fiercely beautiful, powerful in its expression of emotion and obsession. Hilborns performance of the poem has been viewed more than 70 million times online and, in a sense, lev dance companys reimagining takes. Dec 16, 2016 the israeli troupe, the brainchild of longtime batsheva dance company member sharon eyal and rave producer gai behar, visits new york with a fulllength piece i. Much of inspiration came from the text ocd by poet neil hilborn. Six dancers move as one in sharon eyals gravely beautiful exploration of the obsessivecompulsive state. The program notes explained that the show is about lovers. A profoundly disturbing show, ocd love part one of love cycle is produced by israeli lev dance company with original and technically difficult choreography by sharon eyal in collaboration with gai behar and influenced by his background as a dj. When i started to read neils book, i wasnt able to stop, it was. Sharon eyal has been collaborating with gai behar, another key figure of contemporary israeli art, for over a decade. Israeli choreographer sharon eyal, a former batsheva dance company member, and gai behar have identified with neil hilborns ocd obsessivecompulsive disorders and transformed it into an impressive dance poem. The lev dance company chart the extreme and physical. Lev dance company explore obsessive compulsion in ocd love.
This new commission will contain eyals signature style, conveying extreme emotions through movement. Sharon eyal gai behar lev has 276 posts on their instagram profile. L ove chapter 2 is an extension of ocd love, the 2016 work in which the choreographer and creator of the israeli dance company lev, sharon eyal, and designer gai behar presented love. It is a dark, provocative piece of startling intensity, one that begins where love breaks down and stares unflinchingly at isolation and. Sep 25, 2016 six dancers move as one in sharon eyals gravely beautiful exploration of the obsessivecompulsive state. Follow their account to see all their photos and videos. Its the ocd, my love 1 chapters updated jul 05, 2010 08. Techno pulses pummel perfectly in time with the pained, repetitive choreography in this intense, dark and highlycharged work from lev dance company.
The latest piece by the choreographer sharon eyal, her partner gai behar, and the company they founded together in 20 in israel, lev, was. Sharon eyal is one of the most exciting choreographic talents to emerge in recent years. While matters of the heart are important to ocd love though, as the title suggests, even more so is obsessivecompulsive disorder. Not so with sharon eyals ocd love, which opened a five day engagement on wednesday. Love chapter 2 is a continuation of ocd love, and like that work is presented by lev, the israeli dance company of which eyal was one of the cofounders in 20 her partners in the venture are. Feb 27, 2017 the production ocd love was developed during a performing arts residency at the banff centre, canada. The latest piece by the choreographer sharon eyal, her partner gai behar, and the company they founded together in 20 in israel, lev, was inspired by a text by. Audiences planning to visit sadlers wells to see sharon eyal s love chapter 2, the followup to the israeli choreographers acclaimed ocd love from 2016, are forewarned in her own. Tijdens julidans 2015 kregen ze een ovatie voor ocd love. Ocd love is a visual and aural stunner that captures the staccato rhythms and repetitions of both the poem it is inspired by, and as a natural extension, the perpetual motion, mental, physical, of the disorder.
Her deeply personal identification with neil hilborns poem, ocd, has resulted in an intense, strungout and internal set of motifs which are, of course, repeated. Eyal and behars dance company, lev, will bring the piece to spoleto. Lev dance companys love cycle is formed of two complementary but standalone shows at this years international festival. Love cycle allows the audience to watch the two works, which are connected in a very instinctive way, leading the viewer to experience and feel the creators different approach about love. Pitting a single female dancer against a corps of males, ocd love. Seattle theatre group presents a thrilling evening with lev dance companya confluence of movement, music, lighting, fashion, art and technologyperforming its new creation ocd love. Then its a question of which sounds to layer into each. Based on american poet neil hilborns ocd, ocd love is the creation of choreographer sharon eyal. During 55 minutes without interruption, accompanied by dj ori lichtiks live music, five to seven dancers will explore though their movements social isolation, solitude lack of connections of nowadays world. Sharon eyals lev dance company dance informa magazine.