Israeli choreographer sends a message of peace in Kosovo

Israeli choreographer Miriam Engel performed and taught in Kosovo last summer sending a powerful message of peace.

Engel visited the country to take part in the tenth edition of the FemArt Festival in Prishtina, with the support of the Embassy of Israel in Kosovo. She offered a masterclass titled “Stop the War” open to artists and students in ballet, contemporary dance and acting. 

The workshop included floorwork, stage movements, breathing techniques and many other important and practical elements for the work of stage artists.

FemArt describes itself as “the biggest feminist festival of Western Balkans” and focuses on  “empowering women and girls in the recognition of their full rights through good and quality art created by artists and activists in order to achieve equality in political, economic, cultural, personal, and social level.”

The activities of the seventh day of the festival, in which Miriam Engel performed, were opened with a speech by Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, President of the Republic of Kosovo.

The organizers portrayed Engel’s masterclass as “as an experience of exploring expression and expansion through movement, with an emphasis on the full use of individual physical potential as well as virtuosity and full interpretation of body and mind.”

The workshop offered practical tools for performance and interpretation of movement and choreography, using complex coordination and exploring borders between several contemporary techniques.

Born in Israel in 1983, Engel lives in Jerusalem. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Angela Dance Company, as well as the artistic Director of Bet Hayotser – Dance space – a creative and entrepreneurial space in the field of dance and performance and professional dance training in Jerusalem.

The masterclass in Prishtina offered a taste of Engel’s creative and technical language and approach including repertoire materials.