I create dance works with my company in Tel Aviv and with dance companies across the globe, and often work with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expose different countries to Israeli dance, often through working with local dance communities.
My methodology, Imagery in Motion (I.M.), enables performers to approach any task through specific imagery alone, which creates a genuine emotional connection with the movement, thus drawing the audience into the work.
I aim, through dance and theater, to bring all experiences to a human level and in this way break walls between different parts of society. I believe it is my responsibility as an artist to strive to achieve a deeper understanding of hardships and to offer compassion and hope.
On October 7th, I was at home and watched everything we knew collapse on live TV. Soon after, I joined the missing persons unit and led its team for special cases. We saw that the necessary systems are not always in place and each of must take on as much responsibility as we possibly can. This quality is our strength and we should live by this, not only in times of crisis.
The art community is faced with a huge challenge at the moment. The constantly changing news is overtaking society’s interest in culture. Yet through art, especially non-verbal forms like dance, music, animation, etc., we can reach a wider audience in Israel and abroad and show the humanistic side of any situation. Artists are now ambassadors, creating bridges of understanding where words and politics have reached a dead end.
We can achieve that through making art that speaks about what people went through on October 7th or are going through now as kidnapped individuals in Gaza.
If we take a step back from it happening in Israel and to the Jewish people, we can gather support from abroad. If artworks show how terrorism is a global threat to all free people on the planet, then the support will come naturally.
In essence, I see art as the main advocate at the moment for resolutions and solutions in a world which at this time seems like total chaos.
Usually, even in the time of crisis, it is possible to see the right direction forward, even if it’s somewhat vague. The details can be filled in later, but the direction of doing always lights up as soon as the problem or crisis appears.
The greatest challenge I had prior to October 7th was an illness I went through. As a dancer I know that the connection between body and mind is of oneness, no matter the situation. When things go wrong with the body and the recovery is long and painful, it is easy to forget this connection. It was a challenge for me to face this period with my body as a team rather than treat it as a “sick object.” The rewards were that we never detached and yes, we eventually pulled through together.
My challenge after October 7th was the work at the missing persons unit, facing horror, death and tragedy daily. There were very few happy endings and in many of the days we dealt with unbelievable stories as if taken from the Holocaust.
“Artists are now ambassadors, creating bridges of understanding where words and politics have reached a dead end.”
If there is anything we can learn from this great time of need is that we must care for each other as the risks to us are present and not only in the history books. The next step of oneness, possibly more painful than the previous one, is to find a way to separate from the ones we’ve needed to separate from a long time ago.
The word “peace” seems farfetched these days and probably not currently relevant. Nonetheless, we need to understand that separation is crucial for us remaining humane. The freedom of all people should be our national goal, especially after the Holocaust. Will it be complicated? Yes. Will it take our creativity skills to the limit? Yes. But where there is a goal, there is a way and the goal is our future. We owe it to ourselves to carve a way even if one doesn’t naturally appear.
If we want to survive here, everything will have to go in the direction of fairness and of being humane. Even though this is not spoken of enough, I think most people know this in their gut. I just hope that what happened was enough for people in all parts of the society to have the courage to stand up for this, probably next to others whom before October 7th they condemned.