Amit abend

Dancer, choreographer and podcaster

"It’s like watching a movie in a different language. In the beginning, you are aware of the strange sounds, and the effort it takes to read the subtitles. But then, when you dive deeper, you forget all about the words. What is left is the experience, the emotions, and the sensations within you. As counterintuitive as it may sound, that’s exactly what I want people to experience when they watch my pieces: I want them to forget all about dance. Movement is my primary language, but in the end, it’s just a signpost on our path to connect more deeply to our human experience on this planet."

biography

Amit Abend is an Israeli contemporary dance artist based in Dresden, ​Germany. She received professional dance training at the Jerusalem ​High School Academy for Music and Dance. Since 2014, she has ​performed with various choreographers and companies, including ​Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company 2, Ephemera Dance Company, ​Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau, Yaara Dolev, and Svea ​Schneider-Sierra.


As a choreographer, Amit has collaborated with renowned artist ​Sandro Kopp on several art pieces presented at Ebensperger Gallery ​in Berlin and Graz, the Mannheimer Kunstverein, and Milford Galleries ​in New Zealand. She has also served as a guest choreographer at the ​Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau. Amit directed, ​performed, and choreographed her short dance film, “Stav,” which ​was screened at several international dance film festivals. She ​choreographed and performed her solo piece “Wayfaring Stranger” ​as part of the “TANZPAKT in residence” 2023 at villa\wigman, ​Dresden.


Most recently, Amit was a guest performer and rehearsal director ​with the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau and collaborated ​with ABOUT BLANK Collective during a creative residency at ​villa\wigman, supported by Flausen + and Fonds Darstellende Künste.


©Sandro Kopp


Amit has extensive teaching experience, including ​training at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company ​2 and their summer intensives. Among her ​engagements, she has also given company classes at ​the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau and ​regularly teaches contemporary professional training ​as part of TanzNetzDresden.


Currently, Amit is pursuing her MA in Choreography at ​Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden. She is also the ​creator and host of her podcastInside Contemporary ​Dance.”


podcast



Since 2021, Amit is the creator and host of a ​podcast called “Inside Contemporary Dance'' where ​she interviews dance artists in various stages of ​their careers. The podcast’s mission is to create a safe, open and honest space to talk about topics ​that are not frequently discussed in the dance ​world, strengthen and support our dance ​community, and remind dance artists all around the ​world that they are not alone.



Wayfaring stranger | tanzpakt in residence

Amit Abend was granted a four-week research residency in September 2023 ​as part of the “TANZPAKT in residence” at the historic villa\wigman in ​Dresden, the former domain of dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman.

©André Wirsig


During her residency, Amit delved into the theme of home. ​She reflected on her personal origins, the place where she ​lives, and the effects of moving abroad and returning ​home - physically, mentally, and kinesthetically. Amit ​sought to uncover the deeper layer of connection with ​people, one that went beyond time and space. Her main ​motivation was to find out how to make those connections ​visible, how to weave those links with the power of ​movement.

The result of Amit’s research was the solo ​piece Wayfaring Stranger, an exploration of ​identity and belonging. The piece premiered ​in October 2023 at villa\wigman. It was also ​featured at Societätstheater, Solo², and ​TanzART Kirschau.

Concept, choreography & performance: Amit Abend

Original music: Thomas Bewernick

Wood artwork: Or Rozenberg

Fabric sack: Tamar Arava

Costume & general support: Naama Arava-Abend

Trailer: Simon Garbe

"I can genuinely feel that no ​matter how confusing my sense ​of home and belonging might be, ​my body always was and always ​will be my first home. And even ​more than that, it is always ​available for me to return to, no ​matter where I am in the world.“

©Pawel Sosnowki

fenstersprache

Choreography: Amit Abend

Dancer: Dieke De Gendt

Original Music: Hugo Trump


Premiered in Görlitz as part of the G-H-T’s ​“Viva Vivaldi” evening. Followed by various ​performances in Görlitz and Zittau, and at ​Zukunftsvisionen Festival\2022

The piece is inspired by the short time I spent living in an apartment building where we could all see clearly into each ​other’s houses. Every evening, in our brightly lit living rooms, we all involuntarily became watchers, witnessing half-​spoken stories, fractions of our neighbor's realities. We were isolated from each other, but the fact that we were all in ​there, having our own human experience, was also the invisible thread that connected us and made us feel a little less ​alone. Throughout the piece, we slowly become acquainted with a mysterious woman portrayed by dance artist Dieke ​De Gendt. Starting with her back turned towards us, we, as an audience, only get to see glimpses of who she is. But as ​the solo evolves, she slowly sheds her layers and we are invited to go on a journey with her. Through this solo, I hope to ​invite the audience to get lost in her story. I want to use the humanity and vulnerability of the movement to evoke a ​sense of connectedness; through observing her, we get a glimpse into our own lives as well.


Stav

A short dance film created, performed, and directed by Amit Abend.

Created for the Viva Vivaldi project of the wee dance company of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau / 2021, artistic directors: Marko E. Weigert, Dan Pelleg.


The film debuted in April 2023 as part of the “Constructed Sight Dance Film Festival” (Pittsburgh, PA), followed by screenings at the “Mafra Dance Festival” (Portugal), “Dance Days Chania” (Greece), “Quinzena de Dança de Almada” (Portugal) and “vision:danceable” (Germany).

“The secret that our poets and philosophers have been trying to tell us for centuries, is that our longing is the great gateway to belonging.”

― Susan Cain, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole


“Stav” is an ode to imagination.

It's the bitter-sweet feeling of longing.

An intimate moment of subdued sorrow from which a surprising joy and softness can arise.

Collaboration with SANDRO KOPP

In 2022, Amit and renowned artist Sandro Kopp embarked on an exciting artistic ​collaboration facilitated by the virtual realm of Zoom. Their work together consisted of a ​short meditation session from which Amit would initiate deliberate, unhurried ​movements—often close to the ground—transitioning seamlessly between fluid ​postures. These movements introduced varying muscle intensities, emotional resonance, ​effort and release, contraction and expansion, and complex shapes and silhouettes ​created by the entanglement of body parts. Sandro would react instinctively and paint ​his impressions. The result was stunningly sophisticated body web drawings.


“Amit Abend”


Zoom Body Web ​Session. The ​painting was ​exhibited at the ​Mannheimer ​Kunstverein

Painting of Amit dancing by ​Sandro, hanging at “jil Rooftop ​Drink&Dine” in Heidelberg

In winter 2022, Amit and Sandro embarked on their ​biggest collaboration yet. This time they met live in Berlin ​to create the central piece for Sandro’s exhibition, The ​Rosenthaler Suite, at Ebensperger gallery.


The Rosenthaler Suite is a series of paintings by Sandro ​that came to life during and after the filming of Wes ​Anderson’sThe French Dispatch,” for which he created ​the entire oeuvre for one of the film’s protagonists: the ​pioneering artist Moses Rosenthaler.


The creation of the central piece challenged the two to use all they had learned from past collaborations and test their ​endurance and perseverance. Using mixed media on panel, the result was a massive painting measuring 280cm by ​700cm. During this session, photographer Ruediger Glatz accompanied them while musician Thomas Bewernick ​provided live music. The painting was first shown at Ebensperger Berlin and then exhibited again at Ebensperger Vitrine ​in Graz.


Get in touch

amit.abend@gmail.com


@amitabend