The first company I worked with upon arriving in the U.S. was Dennis Wayne’s Dancers.
The story in short: Upon my arrival to New York (1976) my mentor and friend, choreographer John Butler, recommended me to Dancer’s artistic director Dennis Wayne. The company was just forming and the position of Ballet Master / Rehearsal Director was still open, so Dennis set up an audition process for me, to stage a duet for himself and dancer Donna Cowen, which was originally choreographed for the Harkness Ballet. I set up to the task under difficult conditions of that era – no computers, no internet, no digital media, just a very heavy and cumbersome Reel-To-Reel machine which I carried with me to my hotel, in order to study the material. But alas, I could not ‘schlepp’ this monster every day back and forth, so at the rehearsals I had to stage the piece from memory. My salvation was knowing the music well. Staging the duet went well and was a truly enjoyable, professional experience, following which I was offered the position of Ballet Master. The next few years exposed me to some of the best dancers of the time and challenged me to be my best, conducting rehearsals and teaching classes to dancers I had a lot to learn from. I also got the opportunity to choreograph several pieces for the company, and to dance with them on occasion. All in all, an introduction to the New York dance scene I could only have dreamed of…
With actress Joanne Woodward at the company's opening season in New York
1. Letter of recommendation to obtain a green Card - I got it! ______ 2. Program of the East Hampton performance ______ 3. Performing the Ego solo in John Butler's Carmina Burana ______ 4. Rehearsin for Carmina Burana ______ 5. 6. Performance and Curtain Call of Nocturns, West Palm Beach ______ 7. 8. 9. Rehearsin with Donna Cowen ______ 10. Dancers in performance of Cycle
Igal Perry, Founder and Artistic Director of Peridance Center and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in New York, is a world-renowned choreographer, ballet master, and dance educator.
Born in Israel, Igal Perry began his professional dancing career with Karmon, a folk dance company. He later joined Bat Dor Dance Company, where he worked with leading teachers and choreographers including Inesse Alexandrov, Richard Gibson, Alvin Ailey, Benjamin Harkarvy, John Butler, Rudi Van Dantzig, Paul Sanasardo, and Lar Lubovitch. Upon arriving in the United States, Perry joined Dennis Wayne’s Dancers as ballet master and choreographer. During that period, he staged John Butler’s work for the NYC Opera, the Opera of Munich, Caracas Ballet, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he also directed the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s opera Paradise Lost. From 1981-1982, Perry headed the ballet department at Jacob’s Pillow. In 1983, he established his dance school, Peridance Center, now one of New York City’s leading dance institutions. A year later he founded Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, for which he has choreographed over 70 works, with performances at BAM, The Joyce Theater, City Center, and Peridance’s own KnJ Theater.
As part of his affiliations with schools and dance companies nationally, Perry has served as guest faculty / choreo grapher at Juilliard, Jacob's Pillow, The Ailey School, Marymount Manhattan College and Juilliard, where he staged his Intimate Voices and Mourning Song. His international engagements include Batsheva and Bat Dor dance companies (Israel), Scapino Ballet and Het National Ballet (Holland), Laterna Magica and the National Ballet (Prague), Architanz (Tokyo), The Royal Ballet of Sweden and BalletMakademien (Sweden), the National Ballet of China, and Kwang-Ju City Ballet Company (Korea).
Mr. Perry's elegant choreography, often in collaboration with contemporary composers, has been described as "blessedly inventive" (Jennifer Dunning, NYTimes). His works have been set on prestigious companies and performed at renowned festivals including Florence Dance Festival and Invito Alla Danza (Italy), Tel Aviv Dance and Karmiel Dance Festival (Israel), Ailey II, Milwaukee Ballet, San Jose Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet (USA), Companhia de Danca de Lisboa (Portugal), Alberta Ballet (Canada) and more.
In 2007, Perry was inducted into the Dance Library of Israel Hall of Fame.
