Naomi & Neta: Art as a Catalyst

We are Neta Pulvermacher and Naomi Bloch Fortis (N&N), close friends for over 40 years who first met as young dancers in Rina Schenfeld's dance company in Tel Aviv during the early 1980s.

After decades working separately across arts and society within the complex realities of Israel and the global landscape, we have united our talents and experience as women artists, leaders, and directors. Together, we create original projects and artsactions that harness art's transformative power to inspire movement and meaningful change. Our current initiatives explore this central question: How can art open doorways to transformation in our shared world?

Neta Pulvermacher is an internationally acclaimed Israeli/American choreographer, writer, dancer, and Professor of Dance. Born in Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, she spent 31 years working in New York after graduating from Juilliard before returning to Israel in 2013 to become Dean of Dance at Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. As founder of the Neta Dance Company, she has created over 95 works presented at major venues like the Joyce Theater, touring internationally and collaborating with musicians including John Zorn and David Broza. Her innovative immersive site-specific "Body, Dance, Site-Performance Meets City" projects have brought Israeli and Palestinian choreographers and dancers together, receiving wide acclaim. In 2024, she was awarded Israel's Arik Einstein Prize for sustained achievements in dance.

Naomi Bloch Fortis served as co-artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company alongside Ohad Naharin for 20 years. She founded Mekudeshet, one of the world's groundbreaking art festivals in Jerusalem, which told the city's complex stories through multiple narratives. Naomi led the festival's transition into FeelBeit, a community and culture house like no other.