Tell us a bit about your dance background and where you’re from.
I grew up in Moshav Beit Yehoshua and throughout my childhood I was going to different dance classes but was mainly insisting on rhythmic gymnastics and piano lessons. At some point around the age of 12, I left the courses I had been taking in order to invest
more in dance and take it more seriously than before, when going to take weekly ballet, modern, jazz, Gaga, contemporary repertoire and hip- hop classes in Even Yehuda School of Dance, artistically directed by Nathalie Erlbaum Bornstein.
Where did you study and where did you dance prior to joining Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company?
Prior to joining KCDC, I was dancing in the Dance Division of the Ironi Alef High School of Arts in Tel Aviv, directed by Dalit Haramati. During my senior year I had taken part in the audition for the Excellence Dancer status in the IDF, and once reaching that
goal, I decided to spend the next two years as a student in the Maslool Professional Dance Program in Tel Aviv under the artistic direction of Naomi Perlov and Offir Dagan.
Both Ironi Alef’s Dance Division and the Maslool opened the gates for me into the dance world, by getting to know various choreographers, artists and dancers who work in the Israeli and international dance scene, and by being exposed to an array of methods
and movement languages. During my second year at the Maslool Dance Program, I had auditioned for KCDC 2 I joined soon after.
Can you tell us a bit about your experience as a dancer in the Second Company (KCDC 2) and then to your transition to the main company?
The Second Company has had a big impact on me, as those were the earliest stages of my professional career, which have definitely shaped me into the artist and dancer I am today. Those times were the first major dip of mine into KCDC’S language and approach. The company’s second company showed me the foundation and provide me with the roots to continue my process as a dancer in the main company, three years after. The transition to the main company was easy on the one hand and difficult on the other, since I had been prepared for it during my time in KCDC 2, but at the same time, I had to adapt myself into a new environment of work, new colleagues, and within the new pieces we have been performing with, I have had to keep on searching the unfamiliar zone, within the
familiar movement language.
What attracted you to the movement language of Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and Rami Be’er’s work?
I believe that what attracted me the most to Rami Be’er’s work and the physical language of the company was the rawness of them. There has always been something deeply animalistic, instinctive and human about the works I had seen before joining the company and the works we have been dealing with over the years, up until this day. I feel like I’ve always wanted to find these deep sensations within myself and this is why I was curious about joining the company. Furthermore, when watching the company before I joined, I had witnessed the dancers as strong individual voices, that together had a magical quality through which they had created a common, truly powerful world.
What is it like living amongst professional dancers, international dance students, and dance professionals at The International Dance Village in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel?
The atmosphere in the Kibbutz is a unique one. Honestly, I don’t know any sort of place as this in the world; a place where so many dancers from different countries and programs live together, creating basically an empire of art, full of passion towards dance. When teaching at the Dance Journey study abroad program and at the Sadna Dance Workshop, which are both based in the Kibbutz, after each session I felt profoundly inspired and grateful to have such a special opportunity of working with so many different dancers, that as much as I offered and gave tools, knowledge and inspiration into the space, they taught me and gave so much from themselves, in an indescribable way.
That’s the real magic of this place, sharing love, desire, ideas and energy in the highest levels towards art, dance, and towards one another.
Can you share with us how and what you feel dancing with the company on stage?
Dancing with the company on stage is exciting above all, surprising at certain moments, funny at the others, and full of love, adrenaline and enormous energy. This company has been my home for such a long time and the people in it are more than just friends, they are my family, so I can say the amount of love being flown between us not only when dancing but when simply standing next to one another, looking at one another, is like a sea, it’s infinite. The feeling just before starting a show, when we’re standing in our traditional circle, hugging one another, and as well the feeling after reaching the end of it, are beyond what words could express.
A closing thought?
Dance for me is a playground where everything can happen, under a certain structure, and this is why it’s truly exciting for me to dive into this space each time from the beginning. It’s an extremely sensitive act in which I wish to find a rainbow of sensations, all at the same time.
There aren’t words to describe the feeling when dancing with someone, looking at each other’s eyes, connecting at a moment which will never come back exactly the way it was. Being committed to the moment and living it to the maximum and beyond gives me an endless
passion to keep living it time after time as if within my own imagination, it’s the first, or last time.
What’s your most memorable international experience with the company?
I don’t think I have only one most memorable experience to tell, but I can say that the shows we had during our tour in Ravenna, Italy, were quite adventurous since the stage we danced on was on a slope, so we all had this constant feeling of falling but it was a great challenge. The show we had in Sibenik, Croatia, was one of a kind because the stage was built in the area of St. Michael’s Fortress, inside a huge arena, and I remember the view around us was simply stunning. One more unforgettable experience was performing inside one of the rooms of the most incredible Uffizi Gallery in Firenze, Italy, with KCDC 2.
I feel extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to travel around the world with the company, these memories from each tour have a special place within my heart. At the same time, I cannot wait to come back again to the international stage.
Come dance with us at our home at the International Dance Village in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel and take part in the:
