Publication Date: Friday Nov 14, 1997

Zohco previews coming attractions

It is a Saturday afternoon and Room 4 in the Cubberley Community Center hums with the sounds of the blues, as five dancers melt their bodies into the music. The dancers move in an eclectic synergy, combining ballet with jazz and modern dance, and while the music is heavy--the song is about being fierce and alone as a woman artist--the dancers' movements are sensually swift and light.

The dancers, from Palo Alto's Zohar Dance Co., also known as "Zohco," are practicing the dance pieces and works-in-progress for the company's Sneak Preview Fund Raiser show on Nov. 21. Seven of the eight company dancers will perform four pieces at the event, which will launch the company's 1997-1998 season.

"We don't have one central theme or genre," said associate artistic director Daynee Lai-Krauss. "What we do have is different emotional levels and experiences that we hope to translate to the audience. We are artistically diverse."

Lai-Krauss, with her husband, artistic director Ehud Krauss, choreographed many of the pieces that will be showcased at the fund-raising event. Special guest Miyo Nagasawa from Japan also choreographed one of the works-in-progress to be performed.

Company dancers Lai-Krauss, Leah Linkwitz, Charlie Sloyer, Donna Soave and Filipo Tupa will perform with returning apprentice Susie Prohaska. The show will also feature Lisa Navarro, the newest apprentice dancer working with the group this year.

Unlike conventional dance companies, Zohco aims to humanize the art form through innovative choreography.

Sloyer, who will perform a duet with Linkwitz to the blues music of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, said that Ehud's technique "is pretty unusual."

"The technique Ehud teaches is a mixture of Luigi (jazz ballet master) and Martha Graham," said Sloyer, who joined Zohco in 1983.

Soave, who has 20 years of dance experience, agrees: "Ehud definitely has a technique that is special and is specialized," she said. "Sometimes it is a challenge to learn his technique."

Additionally Soave said that the positive group dynamics foster an "atmosphere where we can grow constructively and creatively."

"This group is unlike the average dance company," she said.

Krauss' pieces combine dance as a visual language with musical lyrics, contrary to other dance combinations that rely solely on music without the words.

"Words with feeling make me choreograph," said Krauss. "Choreography is associated with words that are associated with our own emotions, and people can see it and put their own thoughts into it. It's not just a technical piece, it is emotional. Dancing is about life, it's about pain."

Krauss, who once danced in Israel's national troupe, left Israel after the Yom Kipper War in 1973 and went to New York where he studied under the late Martha Graham, the notorious mother of modern dance. In 1978, Krauss moved to California and became a dance instructor at the school that is now the Zohar School of Dance in Palo Alto.

"Zohar is from the second book of the Torah, the Jewish New Testament," Krauss explains. "It means splendor. It's very spiritual."

This philosophy guides Zohco's community outreach programs throughout the Bay Area. Zohco is a non-profit organization that has been recognized for its commitment to promote dance as a means to enhance personal development, particularly among at-risk, minority youth. Both Lai-Krauss and Krauss teach classes for all age groups, with a special focus on elementary school children in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and in East San Jose. Krauss also directs a dance program for juvenile offenders at the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. "My mission is to carry this beautiful art form and teach the next generation about dance," Krauss said. "I studied with all the wonderful teachers. When I'm 60 I want to be a good teacher. I have eight more years."

Lai-Krauss said that the company and its projects rely on donations from the public. Among its major funders are Adobe Systems, Inc., the City of Palo Alto, and several local foundations, including the Packard, the Hewlett, the Recreation Foundation, and Philanthropic Ventures.

The Sneak Preview Fund Raiser provides the public with the chance to experience Zohco's "emotional roller coaster ride through dance," Lai-Krauss said.

"We keep it simple," she said. "You won't see a lot of glitter in our shows."

What: Zohar Dance Co. Sneak Preview Fund Raiser

Where: Zohar School of Dance, Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, Bld. L, Room 4, Palo Alto

When: Friday, Nov. 21, 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. performance

Cost: Suggested donation of $20, adults; $10, youth under 17

Additional shows: "Jazz Dance 1998," April 18 and 25, Cubberley; "Young Audience Program," April 25, Cubberley; "Kidz Dancing 1998," May 29, Spangenberg; "Dance Mosaic Summer Festival," July 11, 18 and 25, Cubberley

Information: 494-8221 

Back up to the Table of Contents Page