Anu Kishore (akishore@arts.ucla.

edu) 310-825-334
DANCE
For Immediate Use. March 31, 2008

Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues

UCLA brings three Tel Aviv based choreographers to work directly with
students during a two-week residency that will culminate in a
Symposium and Performance at Glorya Kaufman Hall.
The Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues program will host three Tel Aviv based contemporary
choreographers: Idan Cohen, Niv Scheinfeld, and Ronit Ziv for a two-week residency in the UCLA
Department of World Arts and Cultures, April 21-May 4, 2008. Conceived as a two-part reciprocal
performing arts exchange program, the first phase sent three UCLA choreographers to Tel Aviv for
a two-week residency in August 2007. These artists were: Iddi Saaka; Cheng-Chieh Yu; and
Sabela Grimes.

The Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues residency at UCLA is an international arts exchange

program that brings for the first time, the students and faculty of the Department of World Arts and
Cultures together with new international partners in Israel, local partners in the city of Los Angeles,
and a host of distinguished campus units.

The residency program at UCLA will include four activities: 1) Two week intensive master classes
and studio workshops by the three visiting Israeli choreographers/dancers (April 21-May 4). The
Israeli choreographers will work directly with UCLA students 2) Ten week intensive master classes
in the UCLA Dept of World Arts and Cultures led by Israeli-American choreographer Barak Marshall
(April 1-May 4); 3) Opening Keynote address on April 22nd, 4-6pm by Nina Spiegel, Professor in
Israeli History Jewish Studies Program, University of Maryland (Royce Hall Room 314). Free.
Sponsored by Center for Jewish Studies; and 4) Symposium and Performance on May 4th by Israeli
choreographers/dancers, guest speakers, UCLA students and faculty in Glorya Kaufman Hall;
followed by an Israeli Dance party at the Kaufman Garden Theater. TICKETS to MAY 4
Symposium & Concert, www.tickets.ucla.edu, call 310-825-2101 or visit
www.wac.ucla.edu/cip

This program is a joint project of: The Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership and
Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre (Tel Aviv) with UCLA Center for Intercultural
Performance, UCLA School of Arts and Architecture, UCLA Department of World Arts and
Cultures, Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA (Dortort Center for Creativity in the Arts), UCLA
Center for Jewish Studies and UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies.

“The interest by the Jewish Federation for LA/Tel Aviv interaction has brought an exciting program
to Los Angeles that engages our entire campus. Visiting Israeli artists will have opportunities to
perform, teach and interact with a new generation of dancers in this pilot program that we hope will
continue,” Judy Mitoma, Director, UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance, said.
The Artists:
IDAN COHEN was born and raised on Kibbutz Mizra and toured
internationally as a member of Israel’s Kibbutz Contemporary
Dance Company. His choreography was awarded first prize in the
Margarita Arnaudova International Modern Dance Competition
and second prize in Germany’s No Ballet Competition. Idan’s
work is heavily influenced by his socialist kibbutz upbringing and
has been praised for its psychological sensibility and musicality.

A Year In A Fish Life: Photo by Amir Weinberg

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 RONIT ZIV is recipient of the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Education
2002 Choreographer of the Year Award. Her work Rose Can’t Wait
won first prize in both the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s 1999 Shades of
Dance Choreographer Competition and the Jerusalem Academy for
Dance and Music’s Choreography Competition. Her work was also
presented at the Pina Bausch Festival. Her work is satirical,
character-driven and known for its intense physicality.

10 minutes. Photo by: Eyal Landesman.

NIV SHEINFELD created his first piece Borderline in 1997 and received an award in the Shades Of
Dance choreography competition. He has created work
for the Bat-Sheva Ensemble, the Kibbutz Dance Co., and
Muza Dance Co. He created and performed Ana Wa
Enta together with dancer/choreographer Emanuel Gat
and went on to perform the work in Israel, Singapore,
and France. His highly theatrical work is vivid in its
physical complexity.

Covariance. Photo by: Gadi Dagon

Barak Marshall: Renowned Israeli-American choreographer Barak Marshall is the former house
choreographer for the Batsheva Dance Company, winner of Paris’s 1998 Bagnolet Choreography
Competition and the Bonnie Bird Award for Choreographic Excellence. Barak’s own company
toured extensively throughout Europe to critical acclaim and in 1998 and 1999 he was the resident
choreographer at American Dance Festival. In Spring 2008, Barak will teach Advanced Intercultural
Composition in UCLA’s Dept of World Arts and Cultures.

CALENDAR LISTING:
When: Sunday May 4, 2008
Where: UCLA Glorya Kaufman Hall. 120 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095. (Parking Lot 4)
What: Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues
-Symposium: 12-1:30pm. "Israeli Dance: In and Out of the Middle East; Performance,
Participation, and Cultural perspectives".
Proposed Speakers: Idan Cohen, Niv Sheinfeld, Ronit Ziv, and Barak Marshall, Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller
(Executive Director, Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA), Yehuda Sharim (Graduate student – UCLA World
Arts & Cultures), Margalit Oved (Choreographer/Dancer), Todd Pressner (Associate Professor of Germanic
Languages and Jewish Studies, UCLA)
-Concert: 2-4pm Glorya Kaufman Theater
“Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues” Israeli Choreographers Idan Cohen, Niv Sheinfeld, Ronit Ziv,
and Barak Marshall in Performance. A Reception/Dance Party and informal dialogue with visiting
choreographers follows the concert.
Tickets: $20 adults/ $12 students (includes dance party)
Buy tickets http://www.tickets.ucla.edu Or Call UCLA Central Ticket Office: 310-825-2101. More
info: www.wac.ucla.edu/cip

CLICK HERE FOR-PRESS IMAGES:

VIDEO: Niv Sheinfeld , Idan Cohen: Video based on My Sweet Little Fur.
INTERVIEW & PHOTO Opportunities with Israeli Choreographers available upon request.

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Partnering Organizations
The UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance (CIP) www.wac.ucla.edu/cip
The UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance is dedicated to performing arts research and experimentation
that promote better understanding, cross-cultural appreciation and stimulation artistic practices that respond
to the realities of our global environment. An integral part of the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture and
the Department of World Arts and Cultures, CIP has become a national and international resource with a
special emphasis on international exchange, brining together internationally recognized artists, scholars,
writers, filmmakers, arts professionals, and educators. As a catalyst for advanced work in the creative and
scholarly fields, CIP has demonstrated its ability to respond to the changing needs of our times. .

Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership www.jewishla.org

The Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership was initiated in 1997 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
to create people-to-people and institutional linkages that mutually benefit both communities and build bridges
of understanding and appreciation. The Partnership promotes several cross-cultural initiatives whose intent
is to transcend the barriers of politics, language, and national identity.

UCLA Center for Jewish Studies (CJS) www.cjs.ucla.edu

The Center seeks to provide the riches of the garden of Jewish culture as a resource to both the UCLA
community and the broader public, as well as to demonstrate the values of diversity and acceptance that
accompany its study. In addition to sponsoring nearly seventy interdepartmental courses a year in Jewish
studies that enroll over 1200 students, the Center offers some 40 lectures, symposia, and conferences that are
free and open to the general public.

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