BOARD MEMBERS:

Adina Shapiro - Chair of Between Heaven and Earth.

A partner at Herzog Fox Neeman law firm. Involved in several non profit associations and other philanthropic activities in the Jewish and Arab sectors in Israel. She is a Director at Bader Philanthropies, the Jerusalem YMCA, and a member of many more Committees.

 

Rabbi Shlomo Vilk

Married to Shoshana and father of five. Graduate of Yeshivas and universities, MA in Talmud and philosophy. Rabbi of Emek Refaim community in Jeruslaem and Rosh Yeshiva of Mahanayim yeshiva in Gush Etzion. Film and television advisor in Avi Chai Foundation, and memeber of the ethics committee of the Israel Fertility Association (IFA). Board member of Between Heaven and Earth.

 

Jean-Marc Liling

Originally from France and Switzerland, is a Jerusalem resident since more than 20 years. Trained as a lawyer and specialized in immigration law and active in the field of refugee protection in Israel, Jean-Marc is also a consultant to the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) as well as to other non-profits involved in the fields of social-welfare intervention, education and Jewish culture in Israel. Jean-Marc is a graduate of the dance school "Kol Atzmotai Tomarna" and one of the dancers in "Mahiah" under the auspices of "Between Heaven and Earth". 

 

Orit Levin

An economist and financial advisor, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in finance and business management. Married to Yoel and mother of four children. Works as an assistant-director of finance for a government office in the field of economics.

 

Shamai Eisenmann  

Married and father of five. Holds BSc in computer science and MBA in integrative management. Board member and volunteer in several social associations. Works at a hi-tech company. Shamai is a graduate of the dance school "Kol Atzmotai Tomarna".

Joe Cohen - Board Member

A director of grants for a philanthropic foundation specializing in education, Joe holds a B.A. in Media and Television Production and an M.A. in Contemporary Judaism from the Hebrew University. Joe is also a member of the board of a directors for a  non-profit that advances Ethiopian art. A mother of four, Joe made aliyah from England.

 

Rabbi Shmuel Reiner - Board Member

One of the heads and founders of Yeshivat Maaleh Gilboa, and a member of Tzohar’s rabbinic committee, Rabbi Reiner has in the past served as head of the Meimad movement and as the rabbi of the religious kibbutz Tirat Zvi.

 

Hanan Rubin - Board Member

One of the heads and founders of Yeshivat Maaleh Gilboa, and a member of Tzohar’s rabbinic committee, Rabbi Reiner has in the past served as head of the Meimad movement and as the rabbi of the religious kibbutz Tirat Zvi.

 

 

 

 

STAFF:

Ronen Izhaki- Founder and director

Holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, in cooperation with Hebrew University. A student of Prof. Ruth Ziv Eyal. As a choreographer, he works with Tammy Izhaki, his partner in art and in life. Their works have been shown throughout Israel and around the world, starting in 2002. He taught at the Theater and Dance department at the Kibbutz Seminar, as well as at Herzog College and Hebrew University.

 

Eyal Ogen- School director Principle and Manager of the Machya Dance Group

Married to Yael and father to Yuval and Tuvya. A graduate of the Ateret Cohanim and Tekoa yeshivas. Eyal holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in movement therapy. He is an administrator and teacher at the school and manages the Machya Dance Group, which dances with the Kaet ensemble.

 

Prof. Ruth Ziv Eyal- Pedagogic Advisor

A producer, choreographer, and teacher. Creates and teaches in the fields of theater and motion. She has instructed and created for many years at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, and is a professor at the Department of Theater, at the Faculty of the Arts, at Tel Aviv University, and at the Kibbutz Seminar. She is one of the founders of the ruth ziv eyal ensemble: www.ruthzivayal.com

 

Porat Salomon- Plastic Arts Curator

An artist and teacher, head of the Pardes institute for higher arts education. A graduate of the Otniel and Tekoah yeshivas, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Bezalel. An artistic advisor to the Jerusalem Biennale, and a participating curator in Between Heaven and Earth’s multi-disciplinary project. He lives and creates in Bat Ain, and is married with four children.

 

Professor Gidon Levinson - Director of the Music Dept.

A composer, a player of cello and contra-bass. His works have been performed by numerous orchestras, including the Symphonic Orchestra of Cincinnati, the Israel Broadcasting Authority Orchestra, and the Camerata orchestras of Stuttgart and Zurich. He has won the Prime Minister’s Prize for the Arts, and the Akum prize. His works have been recorded by SONY and ECM and have been published by PEERMUSIC HAMBURG CLASSICAL. He serves as a professor of composition at Bar Ilan University at the program started by his teacher, Professor Emeritus Andora Haydu.

 

Tammy Izhaki- Artistic Guidance

A creator of theater and dance, Tammy holds a BFA from Rietveld from Rietveld Arts Academy in Amsterdam and received a full scholarship from the JMW. She has done additional studies at the interdisciplinary arts center at Tel Aviv University and the School of Visual Theater. Her work has been shown in leading festivals and theaters in Israel and abroad; she also co-creates works with Ronen Yitzhaki. She served as an advisor and coordinator in the field of dance for the Ministry of Culture and teaches workshops to students and dance teachers through the Ministry of Education; she is the primary examiner for dance matriculation exams.

 

Nava Frenkel- Artistic Directory, Between Heaven and Earth Festival

A native Jerusalemite, a creator of works for the stage. A graduate of the School of Visual Theater in Jerusalem, she holds a BA in psychology and Jewish philosophy. She teaches contemporary directing at the School of Visual Theater, the Menasher School of the Arts, the Kelim Choreography School, and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She is an author of a research book on Israeli dance and a founder of the Keilim school, which explores different models of creative processes. She trains young artists as part of the Toolbox program and teaches at the Kibbutz Seminar.

 

Prof. Janice Ross - Scholar in residence

Professor in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies and Faculty Director of ITALIC, Immersion In The Arts Living In Culture, a new freshman residential program. Former director of the Dance Division, she has a BA with Honors from UC Berkeley and MA and PhD degrees from Stanford. Teaches classes in Dance Studies, Dance History, Dance in Prison and Dance and Conflict, and author of four books. For ten years she was the staff dance critic for The Oakland Tribune and for twenty years a contributing editor to Dance Magazine. Her articles on dance have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Past President of the international Society of Dance History Scholars and past President of the Dance Critics Association and a former delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies.

 

Yuval Azoulay- A Member of Kaet Dance Ensemble

A dancer in the Kaet Dance Ensemble and a teacher of movement at the All My Bones Shall Praise Him Dance School. A graduate of the RG Yeshiva and the AMBSPHS school. He lives in Tekoah, and works as a social worker with a specialty in helping people with special needs.

 

Chananya Schwartz- A Member of Kaet Dance Ensemble

A member of Kaet Dance Ensemble and a graduate of the Otniel Yeshiva. He created works for the “Other Dance” festival and the “Dance Circle” festival, taught in the Chemdat pre-army preparatory program, and in the Otniel Yeshiva. Currently, he is a tutor at the Hesder Yeshiva Maachanaim, where he teaches dance, Hassidism, and meditation.

 

Alon Karniel- Teaching Staff

Studied at the Haifa Training School for Dancers and then joined the Vertigo Dance Company. Has worked with choreographers Noa Dar, Dafi Altabeb, Leo Lerus and Anat Cederbaum, Gil Kerer. In recent years studies anatomy and biomechanics in the context of the Axis Syllabus, and is currently in training to become certified in the Feldenkrais method.

 

Idan Forges-  Teaching Staff

A dancer, a creator, a gaga dance teacher - the language of Ohad Naharin. He joined the Batsheva Dance Company in 2007 and from 2007-8 danced with RIKSTEATERN - the national theater in Sweden, in a joint project with the Batsheva Dance Company. In addition to being a Gaga dance teacher, Idan also acts as the principle of a training course for Gaga teachers.

 

Stephan Perry- Teaching Staff

1994 Graduate from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris - option classical BALLET. From 1994 to 1999 he danced at Les Ballets de Monte Carlo .During the summer of 1999 he joined Batsheva dance company as a dancer. 2005 winner of Yair Shapira prize for the best dancer of the year in Israel. Since 2008 Stefan is teaching Classical Ballet, Gaga and Repertory Batsheva in Israel and around the world.

 

Rabbi Yehuda Miller - Advisor to the Arts Beit Midrash

A graduate of the Ateret Cohanim and RG Yeshivas. One of the founders of the Beit Rimon pre-army preparatory program, where he taught for ten years. At the moment he is a tutor at the Baor Panecha adult Torah learning program, and a psychodrama therapist, as well as an acupuncturist.

 

FRIENDS OF BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

 

Tammy and Shamai S. Eisenmann‏

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Karen Djemal 

 

Shosh and Yehoshua Levinson

 

Orit Lavine

 

Jill and Bary Levenfeld

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Jane Klitaner

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Joseph and Leelah Gitler

 

Ruth Cummings‏ 

 

Mendel Shapiro‏ 

 

Avital Tzabari