Click here to download this podcast (mp3) episode

Barak Marshall in Aunt Leah.  Photo courtesy of Barak Marshall.

(You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)

When we sat down to talk in January 2009, I discovered that a conversation with Barak Marshall is very similar to his choreography: fast-paced, peppered with diverse cultural references, and chock-full of attention-grabbing details. These qualities had captured my eye when I saw the premiere of Monger, and when I saw a rare restaging of Barak’s first work, Aunt Leah, I realized these were hallmarks of his craft since the day he stepped into the studio.

As we cafe-hopped in bustling central Tel Aviv during a Friday afternoon, Barak and I delved into a deep, lively discussion covering both his own choreography and the larger context of contemporary dance.  Join us for the first part of our interview as Barak talks about his background, his connection to Inbal Dance Theater and Yemenite dance, and the trajectory of his early career from the making of Aunt Leah to his appointment as the house choreographer for Batsheva Dance Company in 1999.  Barak, who splits his time between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles, also reflects on the development of Israeli contemporary dance and differences between the dance scenes in Israel and the U.S. Continue Reading

Click here to download this podcast (mp3) episode

Andrea Miller.  Photo by Franziska Strauss.

(You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)

Usually I meet choreographers before I interview them, or at least I have seen a concert or two of theirs.  But having heard plenty of positive buzz and watched some captivating clips on YouTube, I was sufficiently intrigued about Andrea Miller to set up a Skype conversation with the New York-based choreographer this summer.

Unlike most of the artists I’ve interviewed in the last two years, Andrea isn’t Israeli.  However, she’s no stranger to the Israeli contemporary dance scene.  Prior to taking Manhattan by storm with her three-year-old company, Gallim Dance, Andrea lit up the stage as a member of the Batsheva Ensemble.  I couldn’t help but wonder if and how her fresh aesthetic had been affected by her time here in Israel.

Continue Reading

Click here to download this podcast (mp3) episode

Noa Dar in Arnica.  Photo by Tamar Lam.

(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen in 2008, and the text is amended from my writing on The Winger.  You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)

* * *

I had spent many evenings during my Fulbright year taking contemporary dance classes with Shlomit Fundaminsky and Inbal Aloni at Noa Dar’s studio in Tel Aviv, but when I entered the building one night for a performance of Noa’s Tetris, it was as if I had walked into another world. When I viewed Arnica a month later in the more traditional environment of Tel Aviv’s Tmuna Theater, I not only saw Noa’s range as a choreographer but was struck by her powerful presence as a performer.  After screening more of her work on DVD, I knew I had to meet the woman whose name graced the space where I so frequently took class!

We set up a meeting, and at long last I met Noa in her studio for a stimulating conversation.  During our interview, Noa reflected on the development of her movement vocabulary, the evolution of her repertory, her choreographic process, and the relationship of her work to her upbringing on a kibbutz and to the larger Israeli society.  It was a really rich discussion that, for me, further illuminated her well-crafted choreography while shedding even more light on the surrounding contexts of Israeli dance and Israeli culture.   I hope it will open your eyes as well!

* * *

Noa Dar is currently on tour with Arnica and Tetris in Frankfurt and Münster, Germany, through September 9th.  For video clips and photos of these works and more, please see below.

Continue Reading

Click here to download this podcast (mp3) episode

Shlomit Fundaminsky in Inner Pocket. Photo by Eyal Landsman.

(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen in 2008, and the text is amended from my writing on The Winger.  You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.  You can also subscribe for free at the iTunes store.)

* * *

Whether she is performing a solo she choreographed, improvising with the Oktet, or teaching a contemporary dance class, Shlomit Fundaminsky is someone to watch.  She has drawn my eyes in all of these settings.  Onstage she fully embodies the clever characters she creates, and in the studio, she passes on her passion for movement to her many students (full disclosure – I am one of them!).

I have had the pleasure of talking with Shlomit on many occasions since first arriving in Israel, and we finally sat down to record an engaging conversation in June 2008.  Join us as we discuss her career, the connection between improvisation and life, the realities of being a dancer in Israel, and how life in Israel affects the dance that is made here.

Continue Reading

Click here to download this podcast (mp3) episode

(Sahar Azimi in Come Feel.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.)

(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen, and the text is amended from my writing there.  You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)

In a festival with more than fifteen concerts – each of which features multiple works – dances are bound to blend into one another.  But when a work stands out in this context, you know it’s the real deal.  That’s what happened again and again with Sahar Azimi’s choreography at Machol Bamidbar (Dance in the Desert) in June 2008.  From the first duet I saw to the gasp-inducing solo for a woman from Bo Targish (Come Feel), and then to the poetic group piece Ze, Sahar’s artistic voice captured my attention and remained in my mind long after the festival was over.

Join us as we talk about Sahar’s early career as a dancer with some of Israel’s most famed companies, his more recent choreography, and the larger field of Israeli contemporary dance.

See below for more photographs and for video excerpts from Bo Targish (Come Feel).

Continue Reading