about us

Uri Ivgi (Israel)

(click here for a detailed CV)

After studying theater and sculpture Uri Ivgi starts his dance education at the school of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in 1987. From 1990 until 1997 Uri dances with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and performs pieces by Rami Be’er, Mats Ek, Daniel Ezralow, Jiri Kylian, Suzanna Linke, Inbal Pinto and many others. Uri creates his first choreography, Isch-Ischa, in 1993 and is subsequently repeatedly invited to create new work for the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company as well as the Suzanne Dellal Centre (Tel Aviv, Israel). In 1998 Uri receives the first prize for best dancer during the International Competition for Choreographers as well as an award for Upcoming Talented Choreographer from the Ministry of Culture. In the same year he moves to the Netherlands to establish and fully focus on his career as a choreographer. After a successful start he is supported by several Dutch foundations and invited to create new works for several festivals, companies and schools all over Europe. In 2001 he enters the International Competition for Choreographers in Groningen, The Netherlands, with his duet Longing and wins the public award. The same duet wins him second prize during the Choreographers Competition in Hannover, Germany, in 2002.

Uri: “I am fascinated by situations involving people in defined spaces. I like to create on the basis of physical communication, working through feelings, intuition and visual ability. I show by example, motivating dancers to take it one step further by adding their own personal touch.”

Johan Greben (The Netherlands)

(click here for a detailed cv)

Johan Greben starts his dancing career with the Dutch National Ballet in 1985 and performs pieces by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Carolyn Carlson, Nils Christe, Rudi van Dantzig, William Forsythe, Martha Graham, Edouard Lock, Hans van Manen, Krzystof Pastor, Toer van Schayk and many others. In 1989 Johan creates his first choreography Later (Straks) for the Dutch National Ballet. Later awards him both the Encouragement Prize for Choreography from the Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts as well as the Wim Barry Perspective Award. He subsequently creates a number of pieces for various companies, schools and festivals. Since 1995 Johan works as an independent choreographer, winning third prize with his duet 610 during the Choreographers Competition in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in 1996. He combines his creative work with teaching technique and improvisation as well as coaching and guiding young dancers and choreographers.

Johan: “Over the years I have had a growing interest in communicating with the observer, my audience. I wanted to learn and worked with different directors and theatre producers. How to extract dance from its aesthetic vacuum wrapping and expose ideas to the audience? What should I leave out in order to make movement significant? Through movement I look for forms and mechanisms of meaning with which I can arouse feelings in the audience.”

Ivgi & Greben

Uri and Johan meet in 2002 and become fascinated with each other’s work. Their mutual interest is making dance theater. With their different perspectives and skills they create for: It dansa, Spain; National Theatre Ballet, Czech Republic; Scapino Ballet, The Netherlands; Scottish Dance Theatre, Great Britain; Skanes Dansteater and Norrdans, Sweden and Szeged Contemporary Ballet, Hungary.