Improvisation & Butoh
Teaching in Akko Theatre and Zichron Yaakov, followed by the Shlomi Centre for Alternative Theatre.
2007–2012Biography Collection · Room 01
Who is Merav Cohen?
Merav
Cohen
Dancer · Choreographer · Dance Instructor
An artistic path shaped by performance, independent creation, embodied research and transmission.
Professional formationHaifa · 1999–2004
Independent workChoreography · 2008 onward
Documented recognitionMinisterial Prize · 2015
02
Artistic CompassHow did the practice take shape?
Her biography does not follow a single line. It moves between dancing, making, teaching and sustained study.
Professional dance training in Haifa led into company work, collaborations with choreographers and performance in theatre, festival and gallery contexts.
In parallel, studies in Butoh, Shadow Yoga and literature expanded the field from which her independent choreographic work emerged.
DanceButohShadow YogaLiteratureTeaching
Biography as embodied history
The body carries the traces of training, performance, collaboration and every work already made.
This room interprets the documented continuity between Cohen's work as a dancer, choreographer and instructor.
Before the first independent work, there were years of training, company life and other artists' choreographies.Move forward to enter the documented chronology
01 / 04 · Becoming
1999—2004
How did the journey begin?
Training in Haifa establishes the professional foundation.
From 1999 to 2001, Cohen studied in the Dance Major at WIZO Haifa Art School. From 2002 to 2004, she graduated from the Professional Workshop for Dancers of the Haifa Association for Dance.
1999–2001WIZO Haifa Art School2002–2004Professional Workshop for Dancers
02 / 04 · Performing
1999—2012
What formed the performer?
Company work and collaborations place the body inside contrasting artistic worlds.
Cohen danced with Bat Kol Dance Group, the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company under Rami Be'er, and in works by Idan Cohen, Maya Dunsky, Keren Ida Nathan, Smadar Yaaron and Osnat Shnek Yosef.
1999–2000Bat Kol Dance Group2001–2002Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company2005–2012Independent collaborations
03 / 04 · Making
2008—2015
When did an independent voice emerge?
A sequence of works expands across dance stages, theatre and visual-art contexts.
Early works such as Doves Drowned in the Lake, Laugh for Me and Illusions were followed by Dreams in Aspamia, When the Beast Returned, Hunting for That Memory, Tanugi Googy, The Chariot, Bugs and The Beast-Bugs.
2008–2010Early independent works2010–2013Akko · Tel Aviv · international festivals2014–2015Bugs · The Beast-Bugs
04 / 04 · Leading
2013—2018
How did creation become transmission?
The choreographer also builds structures through which other artists can develop.
From 2013, Cohen founded and directed Portrait of the Artist, an annual learning path for artists approaching a first creation. In 2015 she received the Minister of Culture and Sport Prize, joined the Israeli Choreographers Association in 2017, and created Flying Wild with Tal Reinan in 2018.
2013Portrait of the Artist2015Ministerial Prize2017Israeli Choreographers Association2018Flying Wild
What changed in 2015?
Merav Cohen receives the Minister of Culture and Sport Prize for creators within their first ten years.
The award enters the biography after a sustained cycle of independent works and before a new period combining institutional recognition, artist development and larger productions.
Open the CV record →2015
Teaching is not separate from the biography. It grows beside performance and creation.
The documented record connects movement improvisation, Butoh, Shadow Yoga, composition and artist development.
Shadow Yoga
Training with Dudi Malka, certification, and later instruction.
2008 onwardPortrait of the Artist
An annual learning path founded and directed for artists approaching their first creation.
2013–2018 in the supplied CVLiterature
Studies in Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of Haifa.
Documented from 2015Research as embodied inquiry.
The research rooms connect the documented practices that repeatedly meet in her work: improvisation, Butoh, composition, performance and the body as a carrier of memory.
01 · Research field
Movement improvisation
Improvisation is both a performance practice and a field of transmission. Cohen taught movement improvisation in Akko, Zichron Yaakov and the Shlomi Centre for Alternative Theatre.
Decision becomes visible while it is still being made.
02 · Research field
Butoh
After studying with Maya Dunsky from 2006 to 2009, Cohen carried Butoh into her teaching and choreographic practice as a language of image, intensity and transformation.
The performer does not illustrate an image; the body lets the image happen.
03 · Research field
The living archive
Across performance, teaching and composition, earlier experiences remain active: professional dance, improvisation, Butoh, yoga, literature and encounters with other artists.
Every action arrives with a history, even when the history is not spoken.
SHINUA
Institutional ecosystem
A framework for artistic creation, professional development, teaching and embodied research.
Enter SHINUA →Dance CompanyDance CenterResearchEducation
Selected Works Collection01 / 05
A choreographic scene
Flying
What happens when movement is allowed to become untamed?
Flying
Wild
Created with Tal Reinan in 2018 and produced by Haifa Theatre, the work belongs to a later period in which Cohen's performance, choreographic and pedagogical paths converge.
2018Merav Cohen & Tal ReinanHaifa Theatre
Continue the journeyImprovisation research ↗Next work ↓
Selected Works Collection02 / 05
A choreographic scene
When the
How can one work continue to change after its first appearance?
When the
Beast Returns
Documented from 2011 to 2015, the work moved from solo performance into new casts and visual-art contexts, revealing an artwork capable of returning in altered forms.
2011–2015Solo → new castsPerformance & visual-art contexts
Continue the journeyLiving Archive ↗Next work ↓
Selected Works Collection03 / 05
A choreographic scene
What kind of stage world can grow from repetition, instinct and detail?
Bugs
Premiered in 2014 through Curtain Up at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, Bugs sits within the concentrated period that also produced The Beast-Bugs.
2014Curtain UpSuzanne Dellal Centre
Continue the journeyThe Living Body ↗Next work ↓
Selected Works Collection04 / 05
A choreographic scene
Dreams in
Where does an independent choreographic language first become visible?
Dreams in
Aspamia
Created in the Akko dance incubator and performed in Akko and Tel Aviv during 2010–2011, the work belongs to Cohen's early independent choreographic period.
2010–2011Akko dance incubatorAkko · Tel Aviv
Continue the journeyChoreographer ↗Next work ↓
Selected Works Collection05 / 05
A choreographic scene
The
How does a documented title become the beginning of a future archive?
The
Chariot
Listed among Cohen's independent works in the documented 2008–2015 creation period. This collection room preserves the verified record while remaining ready for photographs, programmes, credits and production history.
Independent workDocumented in professional CVArchive in development
Continue the journeyResearch Atlas ↗Professional Archive ↓
Flying Wild · Story
A late documented collaboration.
The verified record identifies a 2018 creation by Merav Cohen and Tal Reinan, produced by Haifa Theatre. The room frames the work within Cohen's simultaneous roles as performer, choreographer and transmitter.
Flying Wild · Creative Process
Archive structure prepared for growth.
Future verified materials can be organised here as studio research, rehearsal traces, production notes, premiere documentation and subsequent performances.
- Research
- Studio exploration
- Production
- Performance history
Flying Wild · Archive
Documented now
- Year: 2018
- Creators: Merav Cohen and Tal Reinan
- Production: Haifa Theatre
Photography, press, complete credits and technical documents are not present in the current project source.
When the Beast Returns · Story
A work that returned in different bodies and contexts.
The current documentation traces the work between 2011 and 2015, from a solo format to new casts and visual-art settings.
When the Beast Returns · Evolution
Solo → reinterpretation → living record
This evolution makes the work a natural bridge to the Living Archive research room: choreography is treated not as a fixed object, but as material able to persist through change.
When the Beast Returns · Archive
- Documented period: 2011–2015
- Formats: solo and new casts
- Contexts: performance and visual art
Specific venues, complete cast lists and media assets require further source material.
Bugs · Story
A 2014 work in a concentrated period of creation.
The verified profile places the premiere through Curtain Up at the Suzanne Dellal Centre.
Bugs · Context
Connected to the broader creation thread.
Bugs appears in the same documented period as The Beast-Bugs, creating a visible link between works without claiming an undocumented production relationship.
Bugs · Archive
- Year: 2014
- Framework: Curtain Up
- Venue: Suzanne Dellal Centre
Gallery, press, credits and technical rider remain ready for future verified additions.
Dreams in Aspamia · Story
An early independent work.
The existing record places its creation in the Akko dance incubator and performances in Akko and Tel Aviv during 2010–2011.
Dreams in Aspamia · Creation Context
Incubator, first performances, emerging language.
The available facts make this work an anchor for understanding the transition from performer to independent choreographer.
Dreams in Aspamia · Archive
- Period: 2010–2011
- Creation setting: Akko dance incubator
- Documented performance locations: Akko and Tel Aviv
The Chariot · Documented Record
Verified presence, limited detail.
The title is listed among Cohen's independent choreographic works in the current professional record. The source supplied with the project does not support a fuller production history.
The Chariot · Archive Map
Materials to document next
- Creation year and premiere
- Artistic intention and synopsis
- Cast and production credits
- Photography and programmes
- Festival, press and technical records
The Chariot · Related Path
Placed inside the independent creation period.
Until additional evidence is available, the responsible connection is chronological rather than thematic.
Professional ArchiveOne profile.
One profile.
Every official format.
Validated files generated from a single professional reference.