MCA Talk: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor
Same Planet Different World, Whiteout
About
Joanna Rosenthal Read, director of SPDW, and the duo Sheinfeld and Laor are prolific choreographers in Chicago and Tel Aviv, respectively. The duo screens excerpts from SPDW's residency with them at the Bikurey Ha'Itim Center, Tel Aviv, in April 2015, and talk with Zachary Whittenburg about the personal and political of dance making, and how they artistically transform borders between territories or between life and performance. While in Tel Aviv the SPDW dancers trained under Sheinfeld and Laor as part of the launch of a new work by the duo, Vanishing Point, for the Chicago ensemble. Vanishing Point premieres at MCA October 22–25, 2015.
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 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.