Amid conflict and grief, Israel’s dancers return to the stage — not just to perform, but to remind a fractured country that movement is survival
Tel Aviv isn’t exactly a city that stands still. But in the past nine months, even its rhythm faltered. Sirens, funerals, and silence replaced the usual street music, gallery buzz, and nightlife chatter.
Next week, though, the city’s dance community will leap back into motion. And not just for applause.
A Festival That Refuses to Be Canceled
From August 6 to 16, the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater will host Tel Aviv Dance, an annual summer tradition that’s taken on a much heavier tone this year. The lineup includes 20 pieces, outdoor stages, open rehearsals, and even films — but more than that, it offers a defiant kind of grace.
“It would’ve been easy to postpone,” said Anat Fisher Lebenton, the center’s CEO. “But that would’ve sent the wrong message. We don’t stop.”
Her voice, steady but tired, reflects the general mood. She’s led the festival for years, but 2025 is different. The Gaza war that erupted last October still echoes across daily life. There’s trauma, tension, and uncertainty — but there’s also stubborn resolve.
“This isn’t just about choreography,” she said. “It’s about insisting that movement still matters.”
Trauma, Transcendence, and the Israeli Stage
What will this year’s festival look like? Expect less glitz, more guts. Organizers say many of the featured works dive straight into the themes of mourning, displacement, confusion — and, somehow, healing.
Pieces with titles like Fragments of Home and Pulse/Stillness hint at the inner conflict dancers are embodying. Several troupes have created new works specifically for the festival, driven by the intensity of recent months.
One such performer is Naomi Bar-Sela, a 29-year-old from Haifa, who lost two cousins in the early days of the war.
“I didn’t want to dance,” she admitted. “It felt selfish. But then I realized, dancing is the only thing I still understand.”
Her piece, a solo titled Ashes & Ankles, blends traditional Yemenite movement with unstructured release. It’s raw, vulnerable, and, according to early viewers, unforgettable.
International Faces, Local Soul
This year’s festival will feature two international guest artists — Britain’s Julian Hamilton and Austria’s Charlie Santegado — but the spotlight remains firmly on Israeli dancers.
“We love our guests,” said program director Roni Meiri. “But this year, the heart of the festival is Israeli. It has to be.”
Performers are traveling from across the country — from Eilat to the Galilee — with pieces that speak to their personal and regional realities.
And some performances are outdoors, intentionally placed in public spaces as symbolic gestures of accessibility and inclusion.
• Free admission events will include pop-up dances at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, improvised duets on Jaffa’s boardwalk, and a midnight group piece at the city’s Charles Clore Park.
A Dance Festival in Wartime? Some Say It’s a Political Act
Not everyone agrees with the festival’s timing. A few critics have questioned the appropriateness of cultural celebrations during an ongoing military campaign.
But Fisher Lebenton pushes back hard against that idea.
“Dance isn’t an escape,” she said. “It’s confrontation. It’s presence. It’s the opposite of forgetting.”
For many in Israel’s arts scene, the choice to go ahead with festivals — even scaled-down ones — feels like a necessity. Theaters have reopened. Poetry readings are back. Even comedy shows are cautiously reappearing. Culture, it seems, is another form of resistance.
Here’s What’s on the Program
Festival organizers released a partial list of this year’s performances. The table below highlights a few of the headliners:
| Performance Title | Choreographer | Theme | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashes & Ankles | Naomi Bar-Sela | Grief, ancestral movement | Suzanne Dellal Hall |
| Running on Silence | Ori Lahat | Urban anxiety, Tel Aviv tension | Outdoor plaza |
| Still Here | Liat Dror & Nir Ben Gal | Identity, belonging | Yafo Theater |
| No Shape, No Sound | Charlie Santegado (AT) | Abstract memory, disconnection | Studio Hall C |
| One to One | Julian Hamilton (UK) | Post-conflict intimacy | Main stage |
Several shows are already sold out.
“We Keep Moving”: Why This Festival Matters More Than Ever
There’s a saying in dance: When in doubt, move. That sentiment is stitched through every element of this festival.
One moment you’re watching a woman twirl through imagined rubble. The next, a man is stomping barefoot, drenched in sweat, arms skyward like he’s begging or cursing or both.
“We’re all unsure of what comes next,” said festival volunteer Or Levy. “But this reminds us — we’re not frozen. We’re still here.”
