Ohad Naharin to receive award at ADF

news@heraldsun.com
Apr 3, 2009

DURHAM -- The American Dance Festival will award distinguished dancer and choreographer Ohad Naharin with the 2009 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement. Established in 1981 by Samuel H. Scripps, the annual award honors choreographers who have dedicated their lives and talent to the creation of modern dance. The $50,000 award will be presented to Naharin in a special ceremony June 25 at 8 p.m. at the Durham Performing Arts Center, prior to the performance of Mr. Naharin's Decadance (2007) by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.

Naharin has garnered a reputation the world over for his work as both a performer and choreographer. Trained as a dancer at the Tel Aviv-based Batsheva Dance Company in Israel, Naharin was invited by Martha Graham to New York City early in his career to join her company and to attend the School of American Ballet. He continued his studies at the Juilliard School of Music, as well as with Maggie Black and David Howard.

In 1980, Naharin made his debut as a choreographer at the Kazuko Hirabayashi Studio in New York City, where he studied and worked with David Gordon, Gina Buntz, and Billy Seigenfeld and continued his relationships with Maggie Black and David Howard.

Naharin refers to the unique movement style that his company trains in as "Gaga" – a discovery of new and unfamiliar patterns that allows a dancer to become more efficient in movement and to go beyond the familiar.

This year's American Dance Festival performances run June 18-July 25. For information, visit www.americandancefestival.org.

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