Ronit Ziv doesn't believe in movement for movement's sake. Niv Sheinfeld considers postmodernism passe and yearns for art to be less cynical. Idan Cohen is interested in the kind of work that others "only dare perform for the mirror."
Ziv, Sheinfeld and Cohen are all award-winning choreographers based in Tel Aviv. But for the last two weeks, they have been in residence at UCLA with Israeli American choreographer Barak Marshall, bringing a taste of contemporary dance from their homeland to students who auditioned to work with them.
As Judy Mitoma, director of the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance, said last week, "You don't get many chances to see this generation of Israeli choreographers in the United States."
Indeed, as an exporter of contemporary dance, Israel is probably still best known for the much-praised, Tel Aviv-based Batsheva Dance Company, founded in 1964.
But in recent years, a number of other troupes and independent choreographers have seen their profiles rise, particularly in Europe. All four of these choreographers have toured widely and/or won prizes there.
The residency, called "Bridge: Choreographic Dialogues," was initiated by Marshall and sponsored jointly by the UCLA center and the Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. It's the second half of a cultural exchange that began last summer, when a trio of choreographers from Los Angeles went to Tel Aviv to work with dancers there, and will culminate in a performance Sunday afternoon at UCLA's Glorya Kaufman Hall.
"I think one reason why choreographers in Israel develop such unique, distinctive voices comes from not having to appease a historical beast," Marshall, who lives and works in both Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, said one recent morning.
"Israel is a young country, so there's no long tradition of dance like there is in Europe, and people are encouraged to experiment. Plus, the Israeli attitude doesn't recognize limits."
Marshall, 39, is the son of Margalit Oved, a highly regarded Yemeni dancer and choreographer. He grew up in L.A. "running away" from his mother's legacy. But in 1994, he moved to Israel to help her run a dance company and then stumbled upon a choreographic career of his own.
"I was just doing administration," he recalled. "But then my aunt passed away, and in my grief, I went to the studio and started jumping around. I think my not having any formal training allowed me to create movement without worrying about aesthetic norms."
