Arkadi Zaides is an Israeli choreographer of Belarusian origin. In Israel, he performed in companies like Batsheva Dance Company and Yasmeen Godder Dance Group before starting an independent career in 2004. Zaides graduated from “Amsterdam Master of Choreography” (now DAS Choreography) at the AHK Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam (NL). His works have been presented worldwide. Since 2015, his company Institut des Croisements has been based in Villeurbanne (FR). He received numerous awards, such as the Émile Zola Prize for Performing Arts for demonstrating engagement in human rights issues (2013).
Zaides’ artistic reflection focuses on the impact of political and social contexts on the movements and gestures of bodies. He explores the notion of the border understood both literally (identifying choreographies emerging in border areas) and metaphorically (exposing discourses and apparatuses at work in relation to the figure of “the other”).
(Image: Joeri Thiry, STUK Kunstencentrum)