Idit Suslik, PhD
Dance Lecturer, Scholar and Writer
My engagement with the world of dance begins with my body, and the encounter with unknown movement, culture and language I experienced during my first flamenco lesson, back in the late 1990s. The excitement from discovering flamenco as a way of expressing myself gradually turned into an intellectual curiosity about the historical sources of the dance and its cultural significance. Consequently, I paved two parallel paths of being and doing, which continue to nourish one another even today.
I received my training in flamenco from the finest teachers in Israel, and later proceeded to teach in various flamenco studios. I danced in the companies of Sonia Garcia and Shiri Wild, and performed as a soloist alongside guitar maestro Baldi Olier and singer Andela Nir. In 2011, I created and performed the flamenco show "Tres Miradas" with my colleagues and friends, dancers Adi Davidovich and Maya Malevich-Friedman. Today I continue to train with leading flamenco artists in Israel and Spain.
During recent years, I have also created the choreography for a number of productions within The Theatre Department at Tel-Aviv University and for "Hope Love Faith", directed by Ricki Hayut, which has been showing in Tmuna Theatre since August 2014.
From the start, I have dedicated my academic studies to Spanish art and dance. After receiving my BA cum laude and MA summa cum laude at the The Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Programs in Tel-Aviv University, PhD studies were both a logical continuation and a dream come true.
I strived to write an in-depth research on flamenco, which would contribute something new to the existing discourse, and I am inclined to believe I have succeeded. In December 2017 I received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for my dissertation on contemporary flamenco dancing entitled - Flamenco and Fusion: 'Reaction' and 'Resistance' to Traditional Movement Syntax. The papers I have written on flamenco as part of my research process have been presented in academic conferences and published in academic publications in Israel and abroad.
My research has led me to the fascination worlds of contemporary theatre and dance. For more than a decade, I have been teaching courses on dance history, dance criticism and evaluation, and art and society in The School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem and in Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts. I also regularly lecture in Hebrew and English on dance, theatre and the arts in various institutions. After writing reviews in different online magazines (po-sham and city mouse) for several years, I decided to focus on writing in my website and curate dance events that include lectures and performances, as a means for connecting various audiences to dance and the arts.
Between August 2016 and October 2017, I worked as dance coordinator in the Culture for the Periphery Project (the organization that replaced Culture for Israel), and it was a challenging, interesting and teaching experience for me. I continue to search for as many paths as I can to promote Israeli dance.
![]() Photo: Jonathan Shaul | ![]() Tres MiradasChoreography and Dance: Adi Davidovitch, Maya Malevich-Friedman and Idit Suslik. Inbal Theater, 2011 Photo: Hagar Doppelt | ![]() Entre Alegria y PenaChoreography: Shiri Wild. Performed by: Ritmo Flamenco Group. Suzanne Dellal, 2006 Photo: Deddy Lifshitz |
---|---|---|
![]() Tres MiradasChoreography and Dance: Adi Davidovitch, Maya Malevich-Friedman and Idit Suslik. Inbal Theater, 2011 Photo: Hagar Doppelt | ![]() Tres MiradasChoreography and Dance: Adi Davidovitch, Maya Malevich-Friedman and Idit Suslik. Inbal Theater, 2011 Photo: Hagar Doppelt | ![]() Dolly CityDirected by: Nati Ben Hanan. Choreography: Idit Suslik. The Theater Department, Tel-Aviv University, 2013 Photo: Kfir Bolotin |
![]() Dolly CityDirected by: Nati Ben Hanan. Choreography: Idit Suslik. The Theater Department, Tel-Aviv University, 2013 Photo: Kfir Bolotin | ![]() Dolly CityDirected by: Nati Ben Hanan. Choreography: Idit Suslik. The Theater Department, Tel-Aviv University, 2013 Photo: Kfir Bolotin | ![]() Faith Love HopeDirected by: Ricki Hayut. Movement and Choreography: Idit Suslik. Tmuna Theater, 2016 Photo: Arale Hatzamtzam Ha Bo'er |
![]() Faith Love HopeDirected by: Ricki Hayut. Movement and Choreography: Idit Suslik. Tmuna Theater, 2016 Photo: Mika Kushelevitch |