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The world of dance is constantly changing and in search of talented, curious and creative dancers, unique voices of artists-in-the-making, who seek to develop their skills and realize their talent.
The Maslool School of Contemporary Dance is a unique international dance training program that provides outstanding young dancers from Israel and abroad with tools and technical knowledge, develops the individual creative voice, and provides graduates with the skills and opportunities to enter the professional field of dance in Israel and around the world. The Maslool adheres to the
highest standards of technical execution and performance abilities and places great emphasis on individualism and personal-independent creative expression.
The foundations of the Maslool program were laid in 2006 when Shelly Gonen established a training program for dancers at the Bikurei HaItim Center in the heart of Tel Aviv. In 2008, Naomi Perlov and Ofir Dagan took over and turned the Maslool into an international biannual program that currently attracts outstanding dancers from Israel and around the world. Since 2010, the program has
been supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. Since 2019, the program’s artistic directors Ofir Dagan and Niv Marinberg have continued the growth of the program.
Over the years, the Maslool has gained a great reputation in Israel and abroad thanks to dozens of graduates who have joined major international ensembles, dance centers and various creative platforms including Batsheva Ensemble, Kibbutz Dance Ensemble, Pina Bausch Ensemble, and more.
The curriculum, open to dancers ages 18-22, is eclectic and dynamic, with an emphasis on technique and hands-on work, as well as group and individual work. Out of the hundreds of candidates who attend the open auditions each year, and after a rigorous screening process, approximately 25 Israeli and foreign students are selected for each class.
The teaching staff has been carefully selected and includes renowned teachers and choreographers who mentor the dancers throughout their training with an emphasis on dialogue and close productive interpersonal relationships.
Rehearsal directors also provide ongoing mentorship as well as a broad and consistent perspective on the development of each student inside and outside the studio.
The Maslool exposes dancers to a rich and diverse repertoire that is relevant to current dance productions and trends and combines contemporary dance from around the world with a variety of Israeli creations, offering students the opportunity to work with artists with a distinct artistic voice.
As an essential part of the teaching philosophy, the students meet for individual and group work with dancers, choreographers, artists, and creators from all over the world and from different and tangential methods.
The repertoire changes from year to year and is adapted to the unique needs of the students in a manner that strengthens, refines and advances each of the program’s participants.
The Maslool recognizes the importance of stage experience as part of the construction of the performative persona, making it a priority that students will perform before audiences, in studios and chamber performances, as well as in public and on major stages in Tel Aviv from their first year onward.
The crucial combination of day-to-day work and the way in which it takes shape on stage, provides a solid foundation, imbuing students with a world-class work ethic, enabling them to become the best version of themselves as human beings, dancers, and creators in the making.
At the end of the program, each student emerges into the world ready for technical, physical, and mental challenges, and is equipped with the ability to make a significant contribution to the creative process, impacting the fields of dance and art as well as a society that cultivates and enables creativity.
Over the years, the encounters supported by the Maslool have opened doors for ongoing collaborations and many of the program’s graduates have been smoothly integrated into dance companies and projects of independent creators.
