THE HANGOVER REPORT – Germany’s tanzmainz makes its Joyce debut with Sharon Eyal’s visceral, hypnotic SOUL CHAIN

Germany’s tanzmainz dances Sharon Eyal’s “Soul Chain” at The Joyce Theater (photo by Andreas Etter).

This week, the German contemporary dance company known as tanzmainz makes its Joyce debut. For the occasion, the company – which takes its residence at the prolific Chelsea dance venue through Saturday – has chosen to perform Sharon Eyal’s evening length work Soul Chain. Ms. Eyal’s piece, which was co-created by Gai Behar, was choreographed specifically for tanzmainz, which debuted the dance in 2017 in Staatstheater Mainz, where the company is based.

Set to the electronic soundscape created by composer Ori Lichtik, Soul Train is once relentless, hypnotic, and visceral. The choreography is quintessential Eyal (herself a former dance for Ohad Naharin’s pioneering Batsheva Dance Company, which is also slated to appear on the Joyce stage in the coming weeks), which will be familiar to those who have seen L-E-V – Eyal’s own company – perform. As atmospherically lit by Alan Cohen, Soul Train is a mesmerizing choreographic progression that’s full of striking imagery, often times calling to mind an undulating organ (or an amoeba), which may well represent society in microcosm. Indeed, it’s as if the dancers are bound to each other by an unspoken pact, whether it be the law, societal norms, love, or mere biology. Occasionally, however, a dancer or two in the pack braves to break the unison and introduce new variations to the Israeli choreographer’s glacial kaleidoscope. Nevertheless, intense rhythmic synchronicity is paramount and the glue that holds the whole thing together, ensuring that Eyal’s pungent spell remains undisrupted.

The tanzmainz dancers acquit themselves beautifully to Eyal’s distinctive style, which has them rigorously dancing on their toes for much of the hourlong work. Scantily clad in tight fitting flesh-colored costumes (courtesy of Rebecca Hytting), the impressively athletic performers exude sensuality and danger – with a touch of vulnerability – bringing a palpable humanity to a piece that easily come across as merely mechanical.

RECOMMENDED

TANZMAINZ: SOUL CHAIN
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour (without an intermission)
Through January 28

Categories: Dance

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