Ohad Naharin

“If it were possible to hold an Ohad Naharin choreography in the palm of one’s hand, it would feel soft and smooth. Think of a polished stone, part of a sculpture, which, if you throw it, turns into a weapon.”
Deborah Jowitt, Village Voice


Ohad Naharin was born on a kibbutz in Israel and was brought up in an artistic environment. At 22, Naharin joined the Batsheva Dance Company » and embarked on a career as a dancer. He was soon invited to the USA by Martha Graham and her dance company. After one season with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Naharin moved on to the Julliard School of Music and the School of American Ballet in New York to study other dance forms. In 1977, he joined the Maurice Bèjarts Ballet of the 20th Century and danced in the company for a year. He made his debut as a choreographer in 1980, in New York, where he studied and danced with many prominent contemporary dancers.

Between 1980 and 1990, Ohad Naharin founded and danced with his own company in New York, collaborating with, among others, Jiri Kylian from the Nederlands Dansteater (NDT). This encounter was the beginning of a long friendship, both as an ongoing co-operation between themselves and with the NDT. It also spawned numerous commissioned works and collaborations between Ohad Naharin and leading dance companies all over the world.

In 1990, in mid-career, Naharin was invited by the Batsheva Dance Company » to be their resident artistic director for a shorter period. Five months later, he took over its leadership full-time, and has since then been its director.