Michael (Misha) Getman is a Tel Aviv- Based choreographer.
The son of Dora and Zechariah immigrated to Israel from Soviet Leningrad after a failed-plane hijacking by young Jewish dissidents to escape the USSR in 1970 -" Operation Wedding."
Since returning to Israel, Getman has developed his work and choreographic tools.
He examines and is curious about the relationship between our bodily actions, cognitive responses, the particular and the abstract, and the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with a range of physical arousal and emotions.
He is commissioned to create and share artistic experiences utilizing various choreographic expressions. His works have been presented in multiple festivals and venues, including Israel Museum, Suzanne Dellal Center, Holland Dance, Nowy Teater, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Kenzo fashion house, Schauspielhaus (Hamburg), Open Look, Gender Bender, HangarTfest, and more.
Occasionally Michael also works in Theatre and Ethnography, researching and facilitating artistic expression with various communities and cultures. Currently, he is involved with the "Songs and Borders" project, an Israeli-Norwegian-German co-production tracing the liturgy, hymns, and traditional texts of the cultures and minorities in northern Israel, in collaboration with the Neuen Vocalsolisten (Stuttgart) and the composer Daniel Peter Biro.
Photo: Yael Venetzia
Michael teaches seminars and workshops for Bachelor's and Master's programs in leading institutions and dance centers in Israel and abroad;
ZHdk (Zurich), Chapman University (L.A), Artez (Arenhaim), Waapa (Perth Australia), Codarts (Rotterdam), Kibbutzim College (Tel Aviv), Maslool (Tel Aviv), and more.
His dance education started in a small living room with his grandmother, followed by the ballet master Rose Kassel at the Bat Dor School of Dance, directed by Mrs. Jennette Ordman. His professional dancing career started with an invitation from Naomi Perlov to join the Batsheva ensemble, and after a year, he was invited to join the leading company. He had the opportunity to develop his skills and dance artistry, mainly with the Batsheva dance company ( Israel) and the Ballet Freiburg Pretty Ugly (Germany). As a dancer, he was privileged to learn and interpret works by choreographers Ohad Naharin, Amanda K Miller, Marguerite Donlon, and William Forsythe.
Michael also staged Amanda Miller's repertoire (Four For Nothing) and together with the artist Miriam Parker at the Carte Blanche dance company (Bergen) and the Komische Oper Berlin.
He has been awarded choreographic prizes at the international choreography contests - 2008 'Cross Connection Ballet,' Denmark.
2014 International Choreographic competition 'No Ballet,' Germany.
Michael holds an MA from the University of Huddersfield, England.