I had the privilege of organizing and directing a special Hanukkah Celebration, held at the “Youth Hall” in my home town Tiberias, Israel. I was 11 or 12 and unafraid… It consisted of performances of dance (little did I notice that they did not stretch their feet), Hanukkah songs, including my own lighting of the candles, and a piano recital in which I played Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2, unafraid again (and ignoring then the couple of glitches, which I well remember now…).
Lighting the Menorah, while trying out my (still soprano) voice
Idit and Leah (my young niece) sing Hanukka’s famous “Maoz Tsur”
Playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2 (my first public recital)
And finally the Dance portion! All photos by my family’s own camera
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.
