Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar (https://www.sharoneyaldance.com/en/home) founded L-E-V Dance Company in 2013, since then premiering five original creations with a new commission coming in July. OCD Love is the company’s 55-minute, non-stop thumping exploration of love out-of-synch with those around us.
In a one-night-only performance on DPAC’s stage, (https://www.dpacnc.com) eight dancers presented the work. While its athletic contemporary dance was inspired, its framework yearned for some narrative frame through which to position the yearning bodies.
The abstract introductory minutes showed a female dancer contorting her body into jagged angles that curved and smoothed out occasionally, often with a male dancer who mirrored several movements without noticing her. These were mostly out-of-synch, yet there were moments when they shared similar movements. Sound designer and composer (and live offstage DJ) Ori Lichtik’s (https://orilichtik.bandcamp.com ) rhythmic clock-ticking that accompanied this alternated pitches and tempi, creating a building tension of what was to come.
What followed was an explosion of a bass-heavy mixing of sound that accompanied the remaining dancers as their jagged movements were in-synch yet their bodies were never aware of one another. According to the program’s description of the work, out-of-synch bodies that miss one another yet desire for connection between each other is the point. Isn’t that like love?
Much like love, the work felt strained, a bit repetitive, and a bit like things were missing that could connect an otherwise interesting concept for a dance or an evening. A stand-out moment in the show was a charged pas de deux involving two of the male company members that utilized the entirety of the stage to grand effect.
The conflict presented was unclear as well. Often the group danced as one, with the female dancer from the beginning breaking off, convulsing with movements seen in the beginning of the work. Was she trying to break from conformity? Was this an epiphany? She rejoined the group, by control of [under the control of?] one of the male dancers.
The description of the work describes the work as being “about the holes” we experience in love – when things are out-of-synch. The work itself conceptually was interesting but its execution left many questions to ponder long after the striking, final moments. But this pondering may consume you with imagined possibilities or frustrate you depending on how well you can enjoy challenging art.
