“be fearless, but with humbleness and respect”
Nitzan Ressler is a beautiful dancer who has been dancing in the Batsheva dance company for 10 years.
-Why do you love to dance?
“I actually do ask myself why I dance and maybe it is important we all ask ourselves why we do the things we do. It is a pleasure that comes from being yourself. I think it is so strong that dance can teach you how to enjoy life without anything external, but by your own being and researching deeply inside your body, mind, and soul. It is all there for me.”
-What fascinates you about Ohad Naharin’s work? How can you define his work?
“I suddenly fell in love with the Batsheva company when I was 12 after I saw them for the first time. I cannot explain Ohad Naharin’s work, it touched me deeply. It just makes me open my eyes, heart, and ears and it comes in. I think it is beautiful. You don’t have to analyze it in order to enjoy it or force it to touch you.”
-What is for you the Batsheva Dance Company?
“It is my home. It is so much for me. Actually, it has been a decade since I have been there. It contains so many aspects of my life, relationships, and dancers. And I grew up there. I left my parents’ home and went to Batsheva where I spent my 20. My best friends, and so many beautiful experiences, so many harsh moments in life that I could survive through by being in Batsheva. It means so much.”
-What is the importance of Gaga in your dance? What did this practice teach you?
“Gaga for me is a way to reflect on movements. Like architecture: Ballet is like establishing a building, and Gaga for me is the way the wind is going through the windows and the light comes in, so it is about how, inside forms, you can play with the way you are being and reflecting on it. And this reflection is a huge practice and it is so important, even in my life.”
-How did you develop your own artistry?
“I think it just keeps sticking around. Consistently, come to the studio every day, and facing myself and facing the crafts, and maintain curiosity. Without curiosity, you cannot develop. So it is the main thing for me: to keep eyes on curiosity.”
-How important is it to respect the uniqueness of each dancer?
“I think in Batsheva, we don’t dance in a perfect form. What I love about Batsheva is we have 18 dancers, and there are 18 interpretations of how something can be done, so I think that is the beauty and uniqueness of the company. And, I think it comes from the fact that we all respect the form and the choreography so it is just a container for us to be. So it is the dancers’ responsibility to respect the choreographer and it is also the choreographer’s responsibility to respect the beautiful colors of dancers.”
-Do you think that being a good dancer is related in some way to being a good person?
“Yes. For a lot of times, I asked myself about how I can be a better dancer, and then the answer came one day. There is no separation between being a good dancer and being a good human being. What is being a good person? I think it is mostly the value of being kind to myself and others because if you want to develop in any field, you have to contain confidence in order to be vulnerable. And if you dance from the place of fear, wish for satisfying others, or criticizing yourself harshly, at some point, it will stop your progress. Therefore, most work that I have done as a dancer is on myself in person. Try to open up. I am very shy, judgemental, and perfectionist. It is a constant process, it never stops for me, but the moment that I can let things go, the world is opening up and then I trust that I don’t need to tell myself that I have to to be a better person because I trust that my intentions are good and just allow myself to be.”
-How can you deal with struggling in bad days and bad emotions?
“Being kind to yourself. Trusting that even if it was a bad day, it is okay, we are humans. You are not flat. We have high and low, and that is beauty. Actually, when I have a bad day, I just really let it go, and something beautiful happens because I become even careless, and something new is coming out. So, embracing them.”
-Why do you think the profession of dancer or artist, in general, is necessary for society?
“I found that it is really hard to answer this question because I think it is about the way to reflect on ourselves as humans and society; it is about the way to question and criticize to do it. In away. An artist doesn’t ask for a word or for logic, but it touches something else in our beings in this world. And I think dancers are really humble people overall and really determined and hard workers, and these values are coming out beautifully in performances and I think dancers are important in the society because, like any other crafts, it adds color in our human body palette, and it would be sad if we lose it.”
-What happens if someone doesn’t connect to the present feelings and instead fake them?
“I think even though someone is faking, I think there is a certain truth hiding there about whoever it is. Nursing yourself as a person because you can not fake generosity, care, and respect. You might not feel the most happiness in the performance, but in your inside, you still connect into your generosity, and you are still able to bring yourself as you are at the moment. I wouldn’t recommend faking but do what you have to do, trust who you are is enough.”
-Do you think that dancing is an individual practice? In what measure do you think is important the connection with your colleagues?
“Actually now these days, I miss the community, but at the same time, when I was in the studio, I felt some certain loneliness. You can relate and share with others, but you can’t compare yourself. It is really about the way you are able to reflect on yourself and pay attention to your work and the approach. I think overall, it is pretty lonely practice, but you are not alone as you do this. I think that is the beauty of it. You have a space to be in yourself while still being around talented people to share the beautiful experiences of dancing.”
-How were you able to overcome your limits?
“For me, it is a lot about my mental limits. So constantly becoming aware. Just try to offer myself new ways to reflect to make things more simple and light by seeing them clearly and maybe cleaning the story that maybe I have about the expectation of what I should be, how I should look like, how others see me because, in the end, it doesn’t matter.”
-What is the purpose of the dance?
“I think, like any other form of art, it is a way of expression and a way of researching our human experience. Dance today it is so broad. We had a creation two years ago with a choreographer and she blew my mind and I realized as a performer and as a dancer I can do so many things that I didn’t even consider under the umbrella of dance. It is hard to define dance. The purpose is an expression and researching our human experience.”
-Describe yourself as an artist in three words
“Long legs monster. I never saw myself dancing tho.”
-Can you give some advice to young dancers?
“Keep your curiosity on. You can literally learn from everyone, like for me no matter how old the dancers are around me, if they join the company or are 15 yo, I can learn from everyone so much. There is so much knowledge around you so don’t be afraid to look, to take in and open your mind to the possibility of learning from your colleagues, your friends, the way your grandmother thinks, and the way the birds next to you are moving his head. Don’t be afraid of hard work, don’t be afraid of rejection, don’t be afraid of opening up: be fearless, but with humbleness and respect to yourself and others.”
Thank you for giving us this opportunity, Nitzan it was a special honor!
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