Sigal Bergman (1966) was born and raised in Israel. She holds a BA (cum laude) in psychology from the Hebrew University (1991), studied dance at the Rubin Academy for Music and Dance Jerusalem, Israel, and at the European Dance Development Center in Arnhem, Holland (1994). In 2002 she became a certified Alexander Technique teacher (ACAT, NYC). She specialized in breath and voice work by completing postgraduate program The Art of Breathing. She works extensively as a dancer choreographer teacher and as a therapist, letting those fields feed each other.

 

From 1995-2009 Sigal lived in New York City, performing and attending a variety of workshops and classes at Movement Research which have impacted her approach to dance making until today. From her experience in NYC she developed a taste for the ease and complexity of released based dance techniques combined with a deep listening to the subtle nuances of physical expression. For the past nine years she has been practicing Martial Arts learning to transmit the strong force of chi through her body, allowing her to work with forces larger than herself.  

 

Since moving back to Tel Aviv in 2009, Sigal created choreographies for the stage, site specific work and a number of videos. She is part of the improvisation collective ’Octet’- nine performers who meet regularly to explore large group improvisation structures and dynamics. In recent years her work finds ways to combine her two passions: the Alexander Technique and dance.  This combination creates new and surprising  connections between the mind and the body expanding the possibilities of movement, thought and performance formats. 

 

Sigal received numerous grants to support her choreography including repeated grants from the Pais institute (2024, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017) and the Rabinovitch foundation (2022, 2020,, 2018, 2017,2013). Since 2020 she is annually supported by the Israeli Ministry of Arts and Culture. She was selected for residencies at Yasmeen Godder Studio (2021), Suzanne Dellal ‘Artist Circle’ (2019), Kelim Choreography Center (2017, 2018). Most recently she was awarded a month-long residency at Bogliasco Foundation in Italy (2024) where she developed the core for her next peice.

 

Sigal taught a year-long course in improvisation (from 2010-2021) to people who began dancing late in life, at Hakvutza dance school. She teaches composition at the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance (2006-now) and gives workshops in most major Israeli dance centers.

 

Sigal is a member of the Independent Choreographers Association in Israel, and serves on the Association’s artist advisory committee since 2020 . From 2015-2019 she took part in Störung/הפרעה, an interdisciplinary project initiated by the Freiburg Theater and choreographer Yasmeen Godder that brought scientists, professional dancers and choreographers together with people with Parkinson’s Disease, to explore human movement and movement disorder. Since 2018 she is part of the steering committee of ‘Moving Community’ a program that developed from Störung/הפרעה. Her most recent work ‘Revert to Manual #2’ is a physical memoir based on her personal experience dealing with her mother’s diagnosis with Parkinson and her own coming to terms with the vulnerability of her body.​