Growing old isn’t easy; for dancers, aging can often mean becoming the teacher, rather than the performer.

Four dancers are turning the tables on that dynamic with a new ensemble geared toward dancers over 40.

The ensemble, which does not yet have a formal name, will perform their new work, “Four Fathers,” on April 1 and April 2, at Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater.

Choreographer Michal Samama created the work for four dancers, Talia Paz, Sharon Zuckerman Weiser, Moshe Shechter Avshalom, and Tamar Shelef, based on stories of their fathers.

Samama uses body language, words, sounds, songs, costumes, and even sunflower seeds to bring to life the four dancers’ fathers.

It is part of this new ensemble, which aims to create a new artistic home for dancers over the age of 40, said Paz, who co-founded and directs the ensemble with Shechter Avshalom.

“There are many wonderful older dancers who continue to choreograph and dance,” said Paz, following a recent rehearsal. “The idea here is not to have a choreographer who creates and invites dancers to perform her work, but that the initiative comes from the dancers themselves.”

“I was missing an artistic home,” added Paz. “This is a place where I can be with........

© The Times of Israel