The Tel Aviv–based duo of Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor has been creating dance together for more than 10 years. At the MCA they lead a master class on their choreography, which is informed by their distinctive backgrounds—Niv’s as a choreographer with the Bat Sheva ensemble and Oren’s as a theater performer with Israeli director and playwright Yevgeny Arye—and combines dance, performance art, and physical theater.
About the Artists
Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor are stage artists who have been creating together since 2004\. In their work, they combine elements of contemporary dance with elements of performance art and physical theater. Sheinfeld and Laor have collaborated on Runway(2014), Two Room Apartment(2012), Ship of Fools(2011), Big Mouth(2009), Post-Martha(2008), and Covariance(2004), among others. They have performed throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Israel. Sheinfeld was born in Kibbutz Hanita, Israel, in 1972\. He danced for five years with the Liat Dror and Nir Ben-Gal Dance Company, and since 1997, has worked as an independent choreographer. Sheinfeld has created works for companies including the Kibbutz Dance Company and Bat Sheva Ensemble. In recognition of his choreography, he received the choreography award from the Israeli Minister of Arts and the Rosenblum Award for Performing Arts in Israel. Sheinfeld also teaches dance and creation at the School of Visual Theater in Jerusalem and the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv. Laor was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1971\. Between 1993 and 1997, he studied theater and performance at Tel Aviv University with theater directors Yvgeny Arye, Edna Shavit, and Nola Chilton. Since 2004, he has created contemporary dance works with Niv Sheinfeld, and since 2009, he and Sheinfeld have been members of the artistic committee of Tmuna Theatre in Tel Aviv. Additionally, Laor holds workshops for professional practitioners, combining different methods and techniques of performance and movement exploration. Laor holds a BA in humanities and social sciences.
