The UF/Israel Dance Exchange is making history.
Eleven UF dance students, led by program director Neta Pulvermacher, will spend three weeks studying dance alongside 30 Israeli peers.
On Thursday, the group will become the first UF study abroad program in the area of dance, as well as the first UF-sponsored study abroad program in Israel.
“Israel’s modern-dance scene is considered right now to be the hottest place globally,” Pulvermacher said. “[It’s] the most innovative country right now as far as modern dance goes.”
Pulvermacher is excited about what cultural education possibilities the program will provide its students.
“It is so important for students at the University of Florida, or at any university really, to be exposed to and truly engaged with other cultures,” she said. “Everything in this world is now a hybrid of different cultures and ideas.”
The students will travel to the Kibbutz Ga’aton in Northern Israel, which is also the home of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and the Mateh Asher School for the Performing Arts. The trip has personal meaning to Pulvermacher, who was born in Israel.
“It’s really nice to take people where you come from, to take your students and share your culture experientially with your students,” she said.
Jeremy Miranda, a senior dance student, is excited to see how his peers will react to leaving the country for the first time.
“It will be interesting to see how quickly their eyes will open to the possibilities and what else is out there,” he said.
