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.

Barak Marshall’s Emma Goldman’s Wedding.  Photo courtesy of Barak Marshall.

Barak Marshall’s Emma Goldman’s Wedding.  Photo courtesy of Barak Marshall.

From left: Margalit Oved in Barak Marshall’s The Land of Sad Oranges (photo courtesy of Barak Marshall); Margalit Oved in Barak Marshall’s Rooster (photo by Adi Mazan)

In our interview, Barak explained that his mother, Inbal Dance Theater star Margalit Oved, often served as a Greek chorus in his works.  Now Margalit is reprising this role in Barak’s new Rooster, which premieres on November 12-13 as part of Tel Aviv Dance 2009.  Check out the excerpt below and head over to Tel Aviv’s Opera House to see the full work!

Video: Barak Marshall’s Rooster

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Tel Aviv Dance 2009 Mixes Global and Local Dance
• Remembering Big Performances at Suzanne Dellal’s Big Stage
• Tel Aviv Dance 2008

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: An Interview on Improvisation and Israeli Life
• Noa Dar Discusses Her Dance Career
• Andrea Miller: From Gaga to Gallim Dance

Related Links

• Barak Marshall

(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.

Gallim Dance in Andrea Miller’s Blush. Photo by Karli Cadel.

Andrea and I spoke shortly after Gallim Dance made an appearance at Jacob’s Pillow, one of the most prestigious summer dance festivals in the United States.  Besides discussing Blush, which Gallim Dance presented at the Pillow, we talked about Andrea’s path from training in Humphrey-Weidman technique to Juilliard to Batsheva.  Join us as Andrea reflects on her experience in Israel, Gaga, her artistic influences, and Gallim Dance.

If you too are intrigued by Andrea, you can hear more from her when she participates in a special panel, Contemporary Israeli Dance and the Reinvention of the Jewish Body, at the JCC Manhattan on October 22 during Jewish Body Week.  Want to see some of her choreography?  The Northwest Professional Dance Project is premiering a dance by her this week in Portland, Oregon, and in the next few months alone, Andrea’s work will be presented by Utah’s Repertory Dance Theatre, Ballet Hispanico, and the Juilliard School.  2010 will take Andrea to Holland, Canada, and Switzerland before Gallim Dance’s summer engagement at the Joyce Theater in New York City.  And for now, you can get a taste of her work by watching the clips below.

Video: Gallim Dance trailer, with excerpts from several of Andrea Miller’s works

Gallim Dance in Andrea Miller’s Blush. Photo by Franziska Strauss.

Video: Excerpts from Andrea Miller’s Blush

Related Posts on Dance In Israel

• Gallim Dance at Jacob’s Pillow: Waves of Israeli Influence
• Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in October

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: An Interview on Improvisation and Israeli Life
• Noa Dar Discusses Her Dance Career

Related Links

• Gallim Dance
• Jewish Body Week (with information about the panel Contemporary Israeli Dance and the Reinvention of the Jewish Body)

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.

Video: Noa Dar’s Arnica (Dar performs the second solo)

Noa Dar.  Photo by Eldad Refaeli.

Noa Dar’s Tetris.  Photo by Tamar Lam.

Video: Noa Dar’s Tetris

Noa Dar’s In a Dark, Dark Land.  Photo by Tamar Lam.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• “Noa Dar’s ‘Tetris’ – Shaping the Space”

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: An Interview on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Links

• Noa Dar

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

(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.

Shlomit Fundaminsky in La Divina. Photo by Aviv Zemer.

One of Shlomit’s more recent works is La Divina, created for the program “Opera(tion)” which initially premiered in Jaffa in January 2008.  The full program, including works by choreographers Iris Erez and Maya Weinberg, will be presented as part of Maholohet (SummerDance) at Suzanne Dellal on July 31st.  This time around, fellow Oktet member Inbal Aloni will take the stage in a memorable, diva-esque performance.

Video: Excerpts of some of Shlomit Fundaminsky’s works.

Video: The Oktet in an improvisation. Shlomit Fundaminsky is in a red sweater.

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance

Related Links

• Shlomit Fundaminsky’s YouTube channel
• Shlomit Fundaminsky’s bio on the Amuta website
• Suzanne Dellal Center

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

(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).

(Sahar Azimi’s Come Feel.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.)

Video: Sahar Azimi’s Bo Targish (Come Feel)

(Sahar Azimi’s Come Feel.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.)

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel:

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Links:

• Sahar Azimi’s bio (in Hebrew)
  

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

(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.)

Renana Raz is a relatively young choreographer, but she has already developed a unique artistic voice and an impressive body of work.  Prior to interviewing her, I viewed a DVD of her repertory and attended a high-energy performance of Kazuaria, which was inspired by and incorporated elements from the Druze debka dance.  After our conversation, I couldn’t wait to see We Have Been Called to Go, which like Kazuaria weaves folk dance – in this case, Israeli folk dance – into a decidedly contemporary concert dance framework.  When I finally saw this work, I stayed up much of the night writing in my blog about it.  For now I’ll keep you in suspense, but I’ll republish this post soon on Dance In Israel.

Before arriving in Israel, I wondered if choreographers were dealing with specifically Israeli subject matter in their work.  The short answer (and there is a long one!) is that the vast majority of Israeli contemporary dance presented over the last season has not featured explicitly Israeli characters, situations, or symbols.  Renana’s We Have Been Called to Go and Kazuaria are some of the only works I have viewed which place the Israeli context center stage.

I’m happy to say that these works captured my attention not only because of this distinction but also because of their fine craft and compelling performance.  Renana’s repertory stretches beyond the Israeli context even when she is expressly exploring it, and we talk about this in our conversation.  But – just as I gained some insight into Israeli society by watching Kazuaria and We Have Been Called to Go – you’ll get to learn a bit about Israeli culture by listening to her talk about these dances.

To see excerpts of Kazuaria and more photos, check out the rest of the post below.

Renana Raz and Ilaya Shalit in Phantoms; Renana Raz in Motel. Photos by Yossi Gamzo Letova & Orion Szydel.

(Video: The joined debka – modern dancers and Druze dancers perform together in the third part of Renana Raz’s Kazuaria.)

(Video: Renana Raz’s company in Kazuaria.)

Related Articles on Dance In Israel:

• Viewing an Israeli Vision with Diasporic Eyes: A Look at Renana Raz’s We Have Been Called to Go
• International Exposure 2008: Day 2 – Includes a video of Ov, a collaboration by Renana Raz and Ofer Amram

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel:

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View from the Top
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Links:

• Renana Raz’s website

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

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

If you want to know about the history and programming of the Suzanne Dellal Center, the curriculum in Israel’s premiere undergraduate dance program, and how Israeli contemporary dance compares to American and European contemporary dance, a conversation with Yair Vardi is the perfect place to start.

After a notable career as a dancer, Yair Vardi became the director of Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center, a gorgeous Lincoln Center-type complex with studios and theaters primarily used for dance.  He also serves as the director of dance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, one of the few institutions of higher learning in Israel that grants degrees in dance.

Though these jobs and other advisory positions keep Yair very busy, he found some time to chat with me about Israel’s vibrant dance scene in February 2008.  We talked about the blossoming of dance in Israel over the last several years, the character of Israeli contemporary dance, the annual International Exposure festival at Suzanne Dellal, and much more.

You can hear my interview with Yair Vardi by using the player above or by subscribing to the podcast and downloading it to iTunes.

Finally, if you’re curious about the scope of Israeli contemporary dance, make sure to check Dance In Israel daily from January 20-25 for coverage of the International Exposure festival, held at the Suzanne Dellal Center.

See below for more pictures and links!

The Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv

The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (also called the Rubin Academy), in Jerusalem

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel:

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Links:

• Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
• Suzanne Dellal Center

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

(Oren Laor and Noga Golan in the “Interlude” from Duets; photo by Gadi Dagon)

(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen, and the text is amended from my writing there and on The Winger.  You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking on “Podcasts (RSS)” at the top of this website or following this link to the podcast feed.)

Among the many choreographers premiering work at this year’s Curtain Up Festival are Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor.  With Niv’s background in dance and Oren’s training in theater – and with the special synergy between them – their work has the power to probe the depths of human relationships and prompt laughter at the lighter moments of life.  In the pair’s Curtain Up 2008 offering, Post-Martha, they tackle Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with their trademark dramatic flair, communicative skill, and choreographic honesty.

I hadn’t been in Israel very long when I first saw Niv and Oren’s Duets last fall, but even after many months and many, many more concerts, this piece remains one of my favorites.  I immediately thought of this collaborative team when I started planning for my podcast, and I was thrilled when Niv and Oren agreed to be my first interview subjects last winter.

Like true Tel Aviv-ians, we met at a cafe for an engaging chat in January 2008.  We discussed Niv’s training in dance and Oren’s background in theater, their collaborative creative process, and their choreographic treatment of relationships and gender issues in Duets and Jorona.

To listen my conversation with Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, click on the podcast player above or subscribe to the podcast and download it to iTunes.  To see more fantastic photographs and video clips of Niv and Oren’s work, keep reading the post below.  And if you are in Israel, you can attend Curtain Up 2 in Tel Aviv (Saturday, December 13) or in Jerusalem (Thursday, December 18) to catch their Post-Martha!

(Video: An excerpt from “Co-Variance,” part of Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Duets)

(Video: An excerpt from Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Jorona)

Click on a thumbnail below to see a larger image.

(Photographs, clockwise from top left: Niv Sheinfeld and Sivan Gutholtz in “On a Matter of Life or Death” from Duets – photo by Gadi Dagon; Oren Tishler and Ran Ben-Dror in “Co-Variance” from Duets – photo by Gadi Dagon; Post-Martha – photo by Ascaf; Oren Laor and Noga Golan in Jorona – photo by Gadi Dagon)

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View of Israeli Concert Dance from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• “Israel’s Curtain Up Festival: “Another Op’ning, Another Show” for Contemporary Dance”

Related Links

• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s website

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Shaker completes its U.S. tour at New York City’s Joyce Theater this week.  Photo by Eyal Landesman.

This is the first in a series of podcasted interviews with dance professionals in Israel.

You can listen via the player embedded in this post or subscribe to this podcast for free by visiting our podcast feed and using the iTunes software ((You can subscribe to the podcast feed by searching the iTunes directory for “Dance In Israel”)). This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen, and the text below was written for The Winger.

* * *

The very first work I saw at the Suzanne Dellal Center last year was Shaker, by Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak.  Despite my jet lag, I realized that Inbal and Avshalom’s visually stunning work was special – and when I later saw the Inbal Pinto Dance Company in Oyster (twice!) and Hydra, I knew that my initial assessment of these creators was correct.  Want more proof of this couple’s exceptional talent and ability to win over audiences with their artistry?  Several hundred performances after its premiere, Oyster still fills the house at Suzanne Dellal, and the Israel Festival had to add a third performance of Hydra this June because of the demand for tickets.

Avshalom Pollak and Inbal Pinto.  Photo by Asaf Ashkenazyn.

In between rehearsals for their new production and tours of their existing repertory, I caught up with Inbal and Avshalom in the spring of 2008 to learn how this imaginative couple concocts such unique creations.   You can learn more too if you tune in to our podcast!

For more pictures, videos, and links, read the rest of my post below:

Hydra, the newest work by Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak. Photo by Seto Hidemi.

Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Oyster. Photo by Elazar Harel

Video: A clip from Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Shaker.

I’ll leave you with one more treat:

Video: Excerpts from Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s What Good Would the Moon Be.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Inbal Pinto Dance Company: Oyster and Shaker

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel

• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Interview with Yair Vardi: A View of Israeli Concert Dance from the Top
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life
• Noa Dar Discusses Her Dance Career
• Andrea Miller: From Gaga to Gallim Dance

Related Links

• Inbal Pinto Dance Company’s website
• “Dancing a Dream” – Nick Johnstone’s interview with Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, from the Jewish Chronicle

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.