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.

Yair Vardi. Photo by Gadi Dagon, courtesy of Yair Vardi.

(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)

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.

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.