Last updated June 29th 2017
Israel is considered to have one of the best up-and-coming modern dance scenes in the world. This includes two internationally acclaimed choreographers in Ohad Naharin (Batsheva) and Barak Marshall (Inbal Dance Company).
Here are a few of our favourites:
Batsheva Dance Company
Residence: Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv
Founded in 1964, Batsheva is Israel’s biggest company, by number of professional dancers, number of performances each year, and number of spectators each year.
Choreographer and Artistic Director Ohad Naharin (pictured above) is a famous contemporary dance choreographer, and creator of the Gaga dance movement.
Batsheva has a junior dance company (the Batsheva Ensemble) and offers annual courses, as well as summer courses.
Maria Kong
Residence: 7 Ha’Achim Mislavita Street, Tel Aviv
Founded in 2008, Maria Kong specializes in stretching the boundaries of modern dance. The international team of artists includes dancers, musicians, painters, DJs and audio-visual specialists.
Typically Maria Kong produces one show a year, which it performs in Israel and then takes on tour around the world.
Inbal Dance Theatre Company
Residence: Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv
Founded in 1949, Inbal is Israel’s first and oldest dance company. It has had a recent resurgence with the appointment of Barak Marshall (pictured above) as Artistic Director in 2014. Barak is also choreographer for two other companies who are currently performing shows around the world.
Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company
Residence: Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv
Founded in 1992 by Pinto and Pollak, the Company consists of 12 dancers and actors working together and motivated by the collective wish to make connections among various artistic disciplines to convey new stage creations informed by memories, longings, ideas and imagination.
Their show Wallflower (pictured above) was acclaimed as one of the highlights of 2014 by Ayelet Dekel of Midnight East.
Vertigo Dance Company
Residence: Gerard Bechar Center, Jerusalem
Founded in 1992 by Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al, the Vertigo Dance company specialises in very physical pieces.
Connected to the Company is the Vertigo Dance School, which offers 5 and 10 month intensive International Dance Programmes as well as short-term and summer classes.
Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC)
Residence: The International Dance Village, Kibbutz Ga’aton
Founded in 1973, KCDC is associated with its Artistic Director Rami Be’er. It is located in Kibbutz Ga’adon but performs all over Israel and the World.
The company comprises of over 60 Israeli and international dancers. These dancers make up KCDC’s main company, KCDC’s second company (KCDC 2), and KCDC’s 5-month & 10-month international study abroad dance program Dance Journey . KCDC also hosts an annual Summer Intensive for both international and Israeli dancers as well as year-round courses.