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.)

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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.

(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)

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Curtain Up 6: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor Host Noa Shadur (about the pair’s latest work, Big Mouth)
• Exploring Israeli Society through Dance at International Exposure 2009 (about Big Mouth)
• Israel’s Curtain Up Festival: “Another Op’ning, Another Show” for Contemporary Dance

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
• Noa Dar Discusses Her Dance Career
• Andrea Miller: From Gaga to Gallim Dance
• Interview with Barak Marshall: Dancing between Israel and America

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.