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Oren Shmuel |
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| Born | (1970-08-23) August 23, 1970
Nahariya, Israel |
| Education | Folk Dance Instructor Seminar, Haifa (under Yonatan Gabay) |
| Occupations | Choreographer, folk dance instructor |
| Website | https://www.orendance.co.il |
Oren Shmuel (born August 23, 1970) is an Israeli choreographer and folk dance instructor. Active since the late 1980s, he has created over 70 original Israeli folk dances, documented in international dance catalogues and databases and performed in Israel and by folk dance communities abroad.
Shmuel was born and raised in Nahariya, Israel. In 1992, he completed his studies at the Folk Dance Instructor Seminar in Haifa under choreographer Yonatan Gabay and was certified as an Israeli folk dance instructor.[1] He later relocated to Jerusalem.
Shmuel began his professional career in 1988 as a lead dancer with the Hora Nahariya dance troupe, where he developed an ethnically influenced choreographic style. In 1993, he founded the representative youth dance troupe Noar 93 in Shlomi, Israel, serving as its chief choreographer and artistic director.[2]
Following his military service, he led folk dance classes throughout northern Israel, including the Upper and Western Galilee, Acre, the Krayot, and Nahariya. He also taught within the Keren Karev educational program, instructing school groups in Israeli folk dance and choreography.
In 2008, as part of Israel’s 60th Independence anniversary celebrations, Shmuel was invited to teach an international instructors’ seminar at the Karmiel Dance Festival, presenting a program based entirely on his original choreographies. In the same year, he participated in a national celebratory performance in Tel Aviv.
International activity
[edit]
Shmuel’s international activity began in 1990, when he toured the Netherlands, Belgium, and France as a solo dancer with the Nahar Shir ensemble, a joint project of the Hora Nahariya dance troupe and the Hanaharyanim vocal group.[3] The tour was officially supported by the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture and took place during his mandatory military service, for which he received special authorization to perform.[4]
In 1991, he represented Israel with the Hora Nahariya troupe at the 19th International Youth Festival (Internationale Jugendfestwoche) held in Wewelsburg, Germany.[5]
During the mid-1990s, Shmuel expanded his international teaching activity. In 1995, he conducted an instructional tour across 13 cities in the United Kingdom and received a letter of appreciation from the Israeli Folk Dance Institute in London.[6] In 1997, he served as a guest choreographer at the international Machol Europa seminar in Bedford, United Kingdom, which was covered by The Jewish Chronicle.[7]
In 1998, he led seminars in Minsk, Belarus, and taught in schools in Babruysk at the invitation of the Israeli consul, receiving letters of appreciation from the Jewish community and diplomatic representatives.[8]
In the early 2000s, Shmuel taught at international folk dance camps and seminars in the United States, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. In May 2001, he was a featured instructor at the Sababa Israeli Dance Camp in New York.[9]
Shmuel has created over 70 original Israeli folk dances characterized by ethnic and contemporary Israeli musical influences. His works have been reviewed in Rokdim magazine and featured in national folk dance competitions and annual charts associated with the Karmiel Dance Festival.[10]
One of his best-known dances, Hine Shana Overet (2002), achieved wide circulation in Israeli and international folk dance communities and was the subject of a feature article in Rokdim magazine.[11]
- Be’Eretz Ahavati HaShaked Pore’ach (1995)
- Boi (1998)
- Yeled Hasadeh (1998)
- Amen Lamilim (1998)
- Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (2000)
- Barechenu (2000)
- Hine Shana Overet (2002)
- Kesem Halili (2003)
- Re’ach Shel Yasmin (2003)
- Ahuv Sheli (2004)
- Shoshanat Pelaim (2008)
Awards and recognition
[edit]
- First place, Karmiel Dance Festival – Tefilat Adam (2000)
- First place, Tel Aviv University folk dance chart – Kesem Halili (2003)
- First place, Carmeliada competition, Karmiel Dance Festival – Kesem Halili (2003)
- Second place, improvisation competition, Karmiel Dance Festival (1996)[12]
- ^ Article in Kol HaTzafon, 11 November 1993 (Hebrew).
- ^ Kol HaTzafon, 11 November 1993; Community center publication, Tzafon-1, 1993.
- ^ Hadasa Hen, “Two representative ensembles unite: Hora Nahariya and Hanaharyanim = Nahar Shir”, newspaper article, 1990.
- ^ Official letter, Council for Culture and Arts, Ministry of Education and Culture, Israel, May 1990.
- ^ Official festival program poster, “19. Intern. Jugendfestwoche Wewelsburg”, Kreis Paderborn Jugend- und Sportamt, 1991; Rachel Nehama Avdi, “Hora Nahariya in Germany for the second time”, Tzafon-1, 14 June 1991.
- ^ Letter of appreciation, Israeli Folk Dance Institute, London, 1995.
- ^ Lorraine Kirk, “Bedford seminar attracts Israeli folk dance enthusiasts from around the world”, The Jewish Chronicle, 5 September 1997.
- ^ Letters of appreciation, 1998.
- ^ “Sababa 2001 Instructors”.
- ^ Yaron Mishar, “Rikudei HaTacharuyot BeFestival Karmiel”, Rokdim, Issue 111, April 2023.
- ^ Yaron Mishar, “Hine Shana Overet – and the success remains”, Rokdim, Issue 61, April 2003.
- ^ Shishishabat, 26 July 1996.
