Naharin's Influences

"Don't take yourself too seriously."- Ohad Naharin

There have been many cultural and social happenings during Ohad Naharin's life that have influenced his work. One of these cultural happenings is the ongoing conflict over the land of Israel between the Palestinian Arabs and the Jewish people. As he was born in 1952, Naharin was surrounded by the founding of Israel in 1948, including the great conflict that went with it. Naharin is very conscious of this conflict of Israel in his choreography, though it is not his true intent to reveal that political struggle. Calling it a "social conscious," Naharin is able to be affected by the conflict in Israel subtly in his work.

Another influence that affected Ohad Naharin's work was the cultural trend of having Israeli dancing be very similar to American Modern Dance in the early 1960's. This trend began around 1964, when Batsheva Dance Company was founded under the direction of Martha Graham. It was evident to Ohad Naharin, who undertook the position of artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company in 1990, that Israeli dance should no long be that of America; instead, Israeli dance could be dance from Israel. Thus, the exoticism represented through Batsheva's American influences caused a great shift in Dance in Israel because of Naharin's desire for Israeli dance of its own.

Martha Graham

One of the greatest and most profound influence on Ohad Naharin's career is probably Naharin's back injury, because without it, Naharin would never have created the wonderful technique of Gaga. When he injured himself, Naharin was left with permanent nerve and spinal damage. Out of this injury came Naharin's original technique of "gaga," which is designed to find ways that the body can move outside of limitations. Therefore, without Naharin's back injury, Israeli dance and its inclusion of gaga technique would not be in existence today. 

The fact that Naharin suffered a back injury that led him to discover and create Gaga is perhaps what I find to be one of the most meaningful things about Ohad Naharin, for I too have suffered a major back injury. I am deeply inspired by Naharin's motives to create such a pleasurable technique out of something that one would think to be very devastating. I know that I was meant to find Gaga technique for these same reasons, and I am so thankful for that creation. I also value Naharin's outlook on dancing and life in general- it is something to be greatly appreciated.

Ohad Naharin teaching a Gaga class

Information pertaining to all three of these happenings and how they affected Ohad Naharin can be found at:http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Truth+in+movement:+Ohad+Naharin+talks+about+his+choreography,+his...-a0152433179.