Batsheva Dance Company by Nir Arieli

In our Sunday spotlight, we delve into the evocative layers of Batsheva Dance Company, a photograph from Nir Arieli's Flocks series. This piece transcends the static nature of a photo, capturing an intimate moment of togetherness within the globally celebrated Batsheva Dance Company, directed by the pioneering choreographer Ohad Naharin. Known for his development of the Gaga movement language, Naharin’s philosophy invites dancers to explore sensation, self-discovery, and movement from within, without performative constraints. His influence is palpable in Arieli's work, where the dancers connect on an almost primal level, evoking emotional depth and a sense of shared experience.

About Nir Arieli and the Flocks Series

Nir Arieli’s photography seeks to uncover the delicate balance of power and vulnerability in the human form. Flocks, a collaboration with contemporary dance companies, reveals how dancers physically communicate and connect even in stillness. As Arieli notes, Flocks investigates "what remains in the dancers’ bodies when the dance stops" and movement is stripped away. Each image in this series invites us into a unique social sphere—the dance company as a place where dancers “live, love, and work.” These dancers, often culturally and emotionally distinct, respond to his prompt in varied ways, yet the underlying narrative remains one of unity and interconnectedness. 

Batsheva Dance Company: A Confluence of Movement and Emotion

The Batsheva Dance Company stands as one of the world’s most innovative dance companies. Naharin’s Gaga method fosters a powerful nonverbal connection among dancers, allowing them to communicate complex emotions and stories through movement. Arieli’s photograph captures this essence, creating an intricate, almost biological structure with dancers intertwined in a way that evokes the synaptic connections within a brain. The image breathes and vibrates, suggesting an organism pulsing with life. This layered composition calls viewers to pause and interpret: What do you see in this fusion of bodies? Does it reflect unity, vulnerability, or even the inevitable entropy of human connection?

The Flocks Series: Where Physicality Meets Introspection

In Flocks, Arieli’s dancers create “intricate living sculptures” through nonverbal dialogue. According to Arieli, this interplay reveals a "shared quality" between dancers, bringing their unique physical language to the forefront. As dancers collapse together, intertwined and connected, they form a larger narrative of human relationships, laden with themes of life and mortality. The collection balances aesthetic beauty with an undercurrent of primal instincts.

Explore the Flocks series to see how each piece brings these living sculptures to life.

Curatorial Note on the Print

This featured print, Flocks / Batsheva Dance Company, 2013, is available as an archival pigment print signed by Nir Arieli, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For collectors seeking exclusivity, we offer a Limited Edition of only 4 prints in 100 x 150 cm format (approximately 39.37 x 59.06 inches). Each print is mounted on Dibond©, laminated with matte acrylic glass, and includes a frame for immediate display. Additional sizes are available—please contact us at office@idancecontemporary.gallery for details. 

View this print and more in our Dance Photography collection for a seamless and secure purchase experience.