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Anna Ozerskaya in "The Sway of Her Hips", choreography by Marina Mascarelli, Skanes Dansteater, Malmo, 2014

It seems to me that the peculiarity of Israeli dance is in absolutely crazy energy. The fact that Israel is geographically isolated from Europe played a huge role here. As a result, he developed his own style, his own vision of dance. Most choreographers and dancers do not have the usual education for us, and this allows them to dance at the "animal" level, "wildly", "how they feel". They are not bound by the usual aesthetic framework and standards for us. As a dancer, I have never danced as freely as I do here! Not a single generation has grown up here that has not seen the war. And this could not but affect creativity, every performance is danced here as if it were the last time. The local dancers are much more liberated than Europeans - bolder, brighter (although noticeably less educated and less erudite), more sexual and like to emphasize their sexuality. In addition, they are incredibly emotional! All these factors combine to create a disarming and inexplicable energy that you feel more in the body than in the mind. nine0003

Inbal Pinto and Abshalom Pollak

Inbal Pinto (choreographer, theater designer) and Avshalom Pollak (actor, director, choreographer, theater designer) — a married couple, creators and leaders of one of the most famous Israeli dance companies Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company, working on the border of dance and visual theater. Inbal studied graphic design at Bezalel Academy and danced at Batsheva. Avshalom studied at the acting school in Tel Aviv, played a lot in films, on TV and in the largest Israeli theaters. The two founded the company at 1992 year. They themselves are the artists of their productions. Performances are staged in Israel and abroad.

Inbal Pinto: Indeed, why did dance flourish here? I never thought about it. And the only thing that comes to my mind is that in the theater the director needs to maintain a large troupe, deal with the budget, etc. This destroys the art, since all resources go to administrative work. This may not be the case in dance. Dance in Israel started from scratch - without a budget and without administrative capacity. nine0003

Avshalom Pollak: I think the rule is to start from scratch. Modern dance invents itself, it is not burdened by cultural traditions, which are not so many in Israel.

Inbal: The Russians have a big, rich, well-known history of dance. They cannot start from scratch, they cannot reinvent themselves. They must start by breaking the rules. It's a completely different approach. Interestingly, in other countries where strong artists work, everyone feels their impact. For example, there was a time when many in Europe were under the influence of Forsythe. But there is something in Israel that allows every choreographer to be himself. There are many languages, many voices. nine0003 "Goldfish", Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company, 2014

Avshalom: I grew up in a theatrical family, studied drama theater. And, in my opinion, the pressure of the rules is stronger there. In modern dance, the desire to travel into the unknown, ask sharp questions, and do something unusual is more important. For us, dance is everything - a struggle, a challenge, an experiment, relationships with society and with the cosmos. This is a place where the spirit of freedom is blowing, imagination and excitement rule the ball. The physical energy of people working in modern dance makes them move forward. The energy needed to fight arises from the very need to physically work. They have something in their body that makes them different. nine0003

Inbal: I remember how we started in the early 90s, we lived like in a desert. There were only a few modern dance companies: "Batsheva", where American choreographers staged, the Bat Dor ensemble (it recently closed), to which Batsheva de Rothschild also gave money, the Kibbutz company and that's it. We had nothing to rent a studio for, we worked until midnight, without money. We carried all our curtains on our backs, painted them ourselves and made costumes, carried pieces of iron on a bicycle - and we learned a lot because of this. Then Ohad Naharin came to Batsheva and completely changed it. The Susan Dellal Center was built. And suddenly the dance was in the focus of attention. Ballet critics said: "But we didn't know that we had a dance." nine0009 Avshalom: Due to international interest in Israeli dance, choreographers began to leave Israel, and this turned out to be another impetus for development. I know this for sure about us - for 20 years we have been in contact with different cultures, and this helps us understand a lot about ourselves.
Inbal: We live in a hot country, in a very expressive culture, where people can easily communicate on the street and are very open to any communication. But we also bring the problems that exist here, the tension of life here, into performances. The peculiarity of the Israeli dance is difficult to define, it's like explaining the colors. nine0009 Avshalom: We don't want to define it. If we could do that, it would be a problem.

Michael Getman

Dancer, choreographer. He studied in Israel, danced in Batsheva, then in various European companies. Worked with Ohad Naarin, William Forsyth, Amanda Miller, Emmanuel Gat and other famous choreographers. For the last ten years he has been working in Israel and abroad as an independent choreographer, collaborating with drama theaters.

To explain why Israeli dance is so successful abroad, one must understand the forces that brought it to life. I think the folklore dance was stronger among the Jews than among other peoples, because they had to maintain their identity for centuries. And dancing is one of the best ways to keep it. When the State of Israel was created, dance flourished here because the desire to move is in our genes. Perhaps the Israelites, more than other nations, think with the help of the body. They want to express themselves through the body. Hot climate, hot temperament. All out. Mediterranean people are extroverts, they communicate to express themselves, they love to say who they are, they love to demonstrate "I'm here". This gives the animal, hot energy that we see in dance. nine0003 Eldad Ben Sasson and Michael Hetman, "Face to Face", choreography by Michael Hetman, 2012

Even in dance there is such an Israeli property (and this property of the Israeli government too) - we do not want to think too much about tomorrow. The dance disappears as soon as you see it. The theater at least has a preliminary text, the dance does not even have that. It is spontaneous, intuitive and instantaneous. Something like this is happening in our society. We plan almost nothing, we act here and now, and come what may. nine0003

When I see Israeli dance performances abroad, I feel they are more sensitive to the very atmosphere of life than in performances from France, for example. It’s not that they are more ideological, it’s just that living conditions in Israel are more stressful than in France. That is why there is more tension in performances. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. But in general it is. Abroad, I immediately recognize the work of Israeli choreographers: their musical choice (the music is quite illustrative in relation to the dance, sad dance is sad music) and work with space - as a rule, mise-en-scenes are frontal, not three-dimensional. nine0003

I think that for foreigners, dance is the main medium for contact with Israeli nature, which for them is attractive and mysterious. European dance is very conceptual, in Israeli it is not, it captivates with explosive energy. This quality is stronger in Israelis than in European dancers, it dominates. Maybe that's why Israeli dance and dancers are something special in the eyes of European and American audiences.

Naomi Perlov and Ofir Dagan

Naomi Perlov is a tutor, assistant choreographer, creator and co-director of the Maslool Professional Dance Program in Tel Aviv at the Bikurey HaItim Arts Center. She studied dance in Tel Aviv, Paris and New York, worked in France in the 1980s, and was an assistant to Angelin Preljocaj. In the 1990s, she was one of the artistic directors of Batsheva, and in the early 2000s, she was the artistic director of the Shades of Dance competition for young Israeli choreographers. She supervised the transfer of Preljocaj's ballets and Israeli choreographers to the largest theaters in the world (in particular, to the Mariinsky). In 2009She founded the two-year dance school Maslool.
Ofir Dagan is a director, teacher, creator and co-director of the Maslool Professional Dance Program in Tel Aviv. He studied physical theater in Paris, dance in New York, and at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel. He has worked at the American Bread and Puppet Theater and at the Noah Dar Dance Company, directing performances in various theaters.

Naomi Perlov: Naharin turned Israeli dance culture upside down, and this is the first reason for the emergence of the Israeli contemporary dance phenomenon. The second reason is the creation of the Susan Dellal Center, which has given a platform to many artists. Previously, it was like a field without water, but "Suzan Dellal" seemed to offer the artists a drink so that they could create, and the creators began to crawl out of the ground like mushrooms. There were national competitions for young choreographers, an international competition. It was the end of 1980s - early 90s, at this time I returned to Israel after many years spent in France. In France, I worked during Mitterrand's time, I remember the support of artists by the socialist government: the ten years that I lived there was the heyday of art. When I returned to Israel, it also happened here.

Naomi Perlov, tutor, creator and co-director of the Tel Aviv dance school Maslool Professional Dance Program at Bikurey HaItim Arts Center

So I personally saw a new wave twice in my career - in Europe and in Israel. Of course, there was no such atmosphere here as in France: when the Minister of Culture, Jacques Lang, came to the opera with an escort, everyone saw what culture meant, but we had an atmosphere of renewal because of the spirit that Naarin brought to Batsheva. nine0003

At the same time, there are no social conditions for dancers in Israel, almost all of them are freelancers. It's hard to survive here without co-productions with Europe. Many go to work abroad simply because they need European financial support. They can go to a festival in Montpellier, then to Vienna - and this prolongs their life in art. One very famous Israeli choreographer told me that in France he showed his performance for two days in a hall for 800 people, and in Israel he would have had such a number of spectators in a year. And yet, few people leave here at all, dancers and choreographers almost always return. There is something that draws you here. nine0009 Ofir Dagan: In Israel, there is always a feeling that you are living in a time of catastrophe. You feel it in the dancers and that makes Israeli dance unique. Our drama theater does not have any particularities of its own. Ballet is also not something we can be proud of. And the dance is special, it is connected with this earth.

Ofir Dagan, director, teacher, co-director of Maslool Professional Dance Program

We did screenings last week and saw people who came to our school from abroad: how they stand, eat, how they look. Israelis never carry themselves like that, don't have such posture. Our whole dance seems to take place in a crowded bus station. The teachers who come here (from Russia, let's say) try to teach us the rules, but our students can only imitate them. But they have a passion for movement. They dance like they can't stop dancing. Now or never. nine0003

Dance and State

No matter how famous Israeli artists are, when they go abroad, they face the same problems as their small state itself, waging a permanent war. More than once or twice, the local left-wing intelligentsia, who came to Europe on a tour of Batsheva, staged obstruction, condemning the Israeli position on Palestinian problems. But the artistic intelligentsia of Israel itself is in conflict with the government on this issue. In addition, the dance groups of Israel are not state, but private theaters. State subsidies here are microscopic, a significant part of them goes to several large troupes that are Israel's showcase abroad, while small and independent companies get almost nothing: the share of state subsidies even in the budget of such a theater as Batsheva is about 5%, and independent young dancers during breaks between projects they work as waiters. And in general, the money going to support culture is almost indistinguishable in the country's budget. Not so long ago, Israeli cultural organizations started a whole movement called "1%" - they fought for the government to allocate at least a hundredth of the budget to culture. Then, for several months, Batsheva, all the orchestras, and many other organizations changed their avatars-logos on Facebook to the “1%” sign, but this, of course, did not help. nine0003

Types of dances and dance directions. Dance school Juventa

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Here you can get acquainted with all types of dances presented at the Juventa dance school. Get brief information about the history of dance styles and features of their performance. We are always waiting for you within the walls of our school, we will be happy to help you plunge into the wonderful world of dance! nine0003

Rock and roll

Acrobatic rock and roll is a dance that is perceived as a full-fledged sport. It is quite difficult to perform and requires good physical shape.

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Solo latina

Latina is a mix of different dances such as bachata, salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha, rumba and so on. Usually, latin refers to a pair performance, but there is also such a direction as solo latin, where the dancer performs alone. nine0003

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Oriental dances

When oriental dances are mentioned, luxurious translucent clothes are usually presented, richly decorated with beads and glass beads; lithe black-eyed women, trays of Turkish delight and a heavy aroma of spices.

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Contemporary

Contemporary is an intellectual dance that allows you to balance the state of the body, mind and soul. Thanks to this harmony, not only mood improves, but also well-being. nine0003

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Modern Jazz

This dance was a kind of revolution that took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In America, stage choreography began to rapidly separate from the usual art of ballet, to look for new ways of becoming.

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Zumba

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Kizomba

Kizomba is a colorful, juicy social dance that was born out of the carnival in Angola in the middle of the 20th century. It is based on ethnic Angolan dances and national rhythms.

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Argentine tango

Argentine tango is the essence of passion. There are few dances that bring partners together as much as this one. Already the Argentine tango conquers the hearts of the dancers, who faithfully and forever fall in love with these movements and emotions, and the spectators, who are conveyed a wave of courage from the stage. nine0003

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Paso Doble

The name paso doble is translated from Spanish as "double step", because this dance is characterized by an emphasis on every second step. Interestingly, at first its name was "One Spanish step", according to the rhythm when steps are taken for each musical beat.

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Jive

Unique online stores with adaptive design and tools to increase sales. We develop online stores with a conversion rate of up to 40%.

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Cha-cha-cha

The cha-cha-cha dance style appeared in the middle of the 20th century as a result of a musical experiment by the Cuban composer Enrique Horrin, who composed the melody La enganadora, which was a cross between a rumba and a mambo dance. nine0003

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Foxtrot

Foxtrot is a very romantic pair dance, which is part of the European sports ballroom program. It is distinguished by smoothness and softness of movements, their freedom and maneuverability. Seeing a foxtrot once, it is impossible not to fall in love with it.

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Viennese waltz

The Viennese Waltz is a slightly accelerated version of the classic (English) slow waltz.

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