Hillel Kogan is a dancer, choreographer and dramaturge based in Israel. His diverse range of works have been performed all around the world. Of particular acclaim is his piece We Love Arabs. This duet explores the dynamic relationship between an Israeli choreographer and an Arab dancer. The piece is political, funny and at times difficult to watch, as the Israeli choreographer repeatedly trips himself up on his own assumptions. This is a piece that resonates strongly with a diverse range of audiences as it continues to tour 5 years after its creation.
We Love Arabs is performed in Hebrew, French and English. We Love Arabs was the winner of the Outstanding Creator of the 2013 Israeli Dance Critics Circle Awards.
Other full-length works include The Rite of Spring created for Tmuna Theater’s Intimadance Festival, Tel Aviv in 2011.
As a dancer, Kogan has performed with Batsheva Dance Company, Nomades Dance Company of Switzerland and the Gulbenkian Ballet of Portugal. Kogan has worked as Assistant Choreographer to Ohad Naharin of Batsheva Ensemble. He has created works for National Ballet of Portugal, Muza Dance Company, and the Shades of Dance Festival at the Suzanne Dellal Center. Kogan has worked as a dramaturg with Renana Raz, Dana Ruttenberg, Yossi Berg, and Oded Graf.
Kogan won the prestigious Israeli ‘Landau Prize for the Arts’ in 2015.
This episode was recorded at Malthouse Theatre during Melbourne Festival 2017. Stay tuned for episodes in this season that will cast an eye to the 2018 Perth Festival.
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Delving into Dance has always been committed to access and inclusion, this is represented in the diversity of interview, but also in the desire to get all interviews transcribed for deaf audiences, this episode has been transcribed and can be found here.