Tom Weinberger.
Born in Israel, Tom graduated from the Amal School of Arts and Sciences and upon graduation joined the Batsheva Ensemble in 2005. He continued to the Batsheva Dance Company from 2008 to 2011, where he worked extensively with Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal. Upon leaving the Batsheva Dance Company, Tom was a founding member of Sharon Eyal and Guy Behar’s Company L-E-V. He danced with the Gothenburg Ballet (Sweden) where he performed works by Peeping Tom, Marie Chouinard, and Alex Eckman. He was a guest artist with Michael Keegan Dolan’s-Fabulous Beast Dance Theater (UK, 2013), the Batsheva Dance Company (2014) and with the Forsyth Company (2015). He has been a Gaga teacher for the past 11 years, and has taught and created his own work in programs such as the Netherlands Dance Theater Summer Program (2010 – 2017), the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Springboard Dans Montreal, the Taipei National University of the Arts and SUNY Purchase University through the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation residency program in collaboration with the Israel Institute.
Tom is an independent choreographer and began making his own work through “Batsheva Dancers Create” during his time with the Company. In 2014 he won the International Solo Tanz Theater Festival (Germany) with his solo work, which toured in Brazil and Germany. Since then Tom was an emerging choreographer at Springboard Dans Montreal (CA) and choreographed works for Arts Umbrella (CA) Ate9 dance company (LA), Sunny Purchase College (New York), Johannes Weiland company (Germany) and more.
Gaga
Gaga is a movement language which Ohad Naharin developed over the course of many years and which is applied in daily practice and exercises by the Batsheva Dance Company members. The language of Gaga originated from the belief in the healing, dynamic, ever-changing power of movement, and it continues to evolve today.
Gaga is a new way of gaining knowledge and self-awareness through your body. Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening your body and adding flexibility, stamina, and agility while lightening the senses and imagination. Gaga raises awareness of physical weaknesses, awakens numb areas, exposes physical fixations, and offers ways for their elimination. The work improves instinctive movement and connects conscious and unconscious movement, and it allows for an experience of freedom and pleasure in a simple way, in a pleasant space, in comfortable clothes, accompanied by music, each person with himself and others.
about Gaga/dancers
Gaga/dancers classes are open to professional dancers or advanced dance students ages 16+.
These classes last for an hour and fifteen minutes and are taught by dancers who have worked closely with Ohad Naharin. Gaga/dancers classes are built on the same principles as Gaga/people classes but also employ the specific vocabulary and skills that are part and parcel of a dancer’s knowledge. The layering of familiar movements with Gaga tasks presents dancers with fresh challenges, and throughout the class, teachers prompt the dancers to visit more unfamiliar places and ways of moving as well. Gaga/dancers deepens dancers’ awareness of physical sensations, expands their palette of available movement options, enhances their ability to modulate their energy and engage their explosive power, and enriches their movement quality with a wide range of textures.
**** Once class has started dancers who arrive late will not be allowed to join class. ****
At DancePAT Oct 29.- Nov 2. 2018
previously: 8.05. – 12.05.2017