Download the podcast (You can right-click the link and press “save as” to download the file to your computer.)

Yair Vardi. Photo by Gadi Dagon, courtesy of Yair Vardi.

(This podcast was initially produced for Israel Seen, and the text is amended from my writing there, The Winger, and my own blog.  You can subscribe to this podcast using the iTunes software by clicking this link to the podcast feed.)

If you want to know about the history and programming of the Suzanne Dellal Center, the curriculum in Israel’s premiere undergraduate dance program, and how Israeli contemporary dance compares to American and European contemporary dance, a conversation with Yair Vardi is the perfect place to start.

After a notable career as a dancer, Yair Vardi became the director of Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center, a gorgeous Lincoln Center-type complex with studios and theaters primarily used for dance.  He also serves as the director of dance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, one of the few institutions of higher learning in Israel that grants degrees in dance.

Though these jobs and other advisory positions keep Yair very busy, he found some time to chat with me about Israel’s vibrant dance scene in February 2008.  We talked about the blossoming of dance in Israel over the last several years, the character of Israeli contemporary dance, the annual International Exposure festival at Suzanne Dellal, and much more.

You can hear my interview with Yair Vardi by using the player above or by subscribing to the podcast and downloading it to iTunes.

Finally, if you’re curious about the scope of Israeli contemporary dance, make sure to check Dance In Israel daily from January 20-25 for coverage of the International Exposure festival, held at the Suzanne Dellal Center.

See below for more pictures and links!

The Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv

The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (also called the Rubin Academy), in Jerusalem

Other Podcasts on Dance In Israel:

• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers
• Renana Raz: Choreographing Israeli Culture and Beyond
• Sahar Azimi Speaks about Choreography and Contemporary Dance
• Shlomit Fundaminsky: A Conversation on Improvisation and Israeli Life

Related Links:

• Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
• Suzanne Dellal Center

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.