Abstract
The Israeli-Jewish performance artist Tamar Borer, born in 1965, was trained in many different forms of dance in institutions worldwide. She studied classical ballet at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, modern dance at the Rina Sheinfeld Dance Theatre (where she performed for seven years), authentic Balinese dance in Indonesia, and trance dance in Mexico. In 1992, she traveled to Japan to study with Kazuo Ohno, the well-known and skilled founder of Butoh-soul dance. More than two decades after this formative encounter, Borer remains one of the most innovative and influential Butoh performers and teachers, not just in Israel but worldwide. She has been invited as an esteemed guest to a variety of dance festivals across the globe and has won many awards and prizes, including the first prize at the Gvanim beMahol (Shades in Dance) Competition for First Independent Work (1988), the Distinguished Artist Award from ballet master Albert Gaubier’s Foundation (1996), and the Buchman Hyman Fund’s Promising Artist Award (1997).