The first piece that Ohad Naharin brought to New York City after taking over Batsheva Dance Company exploded onto the Brooklyn Academy of Music stage in 2002. The NYC dance audience knew immediately that something big was happening in Tel Aviv. The piece was Naharin’s Virus, and it seemed to embody both rage and a […]

I dance to remember. I dance to forget. I dance to contain. I dance for my mom and dad. I dance to show my love. I dance when I cannot speak. I dance when words won’t do any justice. I dance to connect with strangers. I dance to understand. I dance to feel differences. I […]

Just as a dancer shapes a phrase with tension and release, a documentary filmmaker often gives equal weight to obstacles and triumph. The maker of Mr. Gaga, Tomer Heymann, took nine years to convey the layers of Ohad Naharin’s art—and the depth of confusion he stirs within us. In 2009’s The Last Tightrope Dancer in […]

A newcomer to Batsheva’s main company, 23-year-old Amalia Smith is quickly learning how to keep her body safe and supple during Ohad Naharin’s rigorous rehearsals and world tours. Fatigue has become both a hurdle and a teacher. “Decadance is pretty much a marathon, and the new piece Venezuela is such crazy cardio I nearly had […]

Elvira Lind’s documentary Bobbi Jene took the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival by surprise last spring, sweeping the awards for Best Documentary, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. For those of us who have watched Batsheva and Bobbi Jene Smith’s career, the film’s success is not unexpected. It is a validation of what we already know: Bobbi […]

It’s difficult to imagine a Batsheva Dance Company without Ohad Naharin at the helm. The provocative choreographer has been the Israeli troupe’s artistic director since 1990, during which time the company, its lead choreographer and his movement language, Gaga, have become more or less synonymous. But changes are afoot. Batsheva quietly announced on its website […]

Go to almost any contemporary dance performance in the U.S. and you’ll see the influence of Ohad Naharin. Since taking the helm of Batsheva Dance Company in 1990, Naharin has transformed the group into a global force in dance. His contagious movement practice, Gaga, has spread far and wide, changing the way many choreographers think […]

For Dance Magazine‘s 90th anniversary issue, we wanted to celebrate the movers, shakers and changemakers who are having the biggest impact on our field right now. There were so many to choose from! But with the help of dozens of writers, artists and administrators working in dance, the Dance Magazine staff whittled the list down […]