An evening of dance and inspiration

GHT dance company with »the butterfly defect« on tour in Israel

Ofnaʻit, 19.02.2014, Chen Sivan
In the center of the evening "Butterfly Defect", inspired by the principle of the butterfly effect from chaos theory, the dependence of a chain of events on a random, seemingly meaningless event at the beginning is dealt with.

In Dan Pelleg and Marko E. Weigert's piece ... seven dancers embark on a journey among seven giant cardboard boxes (the kind used to transport refrigerators) and a dozen smaller boxes. Four dancers in black, seemingly simple yet precisely different dresses, three dancers in black shirts and pants. This visual purity and contrast make the entirety of the stage available to the action.

And - wow! - what a happening. When the performance was over, I expressed something extreme that I still stand by now, 24 hours later: I've been watching contemporary dance for 45 years and had yet to see a piece quite like it.

The rhythm, the joy of creation and performance, the beauty, the virtuosity, the astonishing precision, and the heartwarming childlike playfulness.

The dancers move among the giant boxes, move them, turn them upside down, climb them and fall down from them, build them up and tear them down, erect a kind of tent or wedding canopy and an Eiffel Tower.

They dance together and alone, in alternating pairs and in groups, in thrilling mastery, acrobatically moving and lifting each other (he her and she him) in an endless sequence of dance invention. The pleasure is pure and evident - both that of the dancers and that of the spectators.