The best part of me is that I love what I do.
I live it. I sleep with it.
It is what I am.
– Roni Koresh
Ronen (Roni) Koresh was born and raised in Israel. He began his dance education as a youth as he trained and danced with his mother, a folk dancer in the Yemenite tradition, and with a local Tel Aviv folk dance group. At seventeen, he moved on to more comprehensive study with Martha Graham’s Bat Sheva Dance Company. Following a three year enlistment in the Israeli army, during which he was able to continue with his dance training, he decided to pursue a career in the field.
Immigrating to the United States in 1983 at age 21, Koresh trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. In 1984, he came to settle in Philadelphia where he performed with Shimon Braun’s acclaimed Waves Jazz Dance Company. He was also one of the original Evening Magazine Dancers and won a People’s Choice Award in 1987 as Philadelphia’s Most Outstanding Jazz Dancer.
Koresh embarked on his teaching career while continuing to train and perform. Early teaching experiences ranged from ballet residencies in both the U.S. and Europe to modern jazz classes at the Philadelphia based Jazz Dance Center. Roni began teaching at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1986 and, to this day, remains on faculty as a professor of jazz dance. He has taught master classes and created choreography on dance students at Drexel University, Wake Forest and the Elie Studio in Mito, Japan, just to name a few. He has also set his work on both students and professional dancers; he traveled to Utah to set Ancient Future on Derryl Yeager’s Odyssey Dance Theater and in 2004 was commissioned to create a full-length piece entitled Judgment for the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, CA. Most recently, Mr. Koresh was commissioned to create a new work for Dance Celebration, a co-presentation of Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents, at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia as part of the Music That Made Us Dance program.
Roni’s expertise is frequently requested throughout the country as he is invited to be a guest artist and speaker at various venues and festivals, most recently Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in summer 2004. During the summer of 2005, Roni traveled to Portland, Oregon and participated in the Northwest National Dance Project as a guest teacher, speaker and choreographer. For his innovative and explosive choreography, Koresh has received individual fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts.
In 1991, Koresh accomplished a lifelong dream of forming his own dance company. Now in its fifteenth anniversary season, his company is known as a leading force on both the national and international scene. A highlight of the company’s history occurred recently: Koresh Dance Company was featured in the August 2004 issue of Dance Magazine. Roni and his company of nine were featured in a six-page article complete with full-page photos.
In 1993, Koresh fulfilled another dream and opened the Koresh School of Dance in Center City Philadelphia. Besides serving as the home base for his company, the studio is a mecca for dancers, ages 2-seniors, in the community. It has also been a magnet for some of the nation’s most outstanding teachers, including hip hop’s Rennie Harris, ballet’s Elena Tchernishova, Andrew Pap, Sasha and Irina Boitsov, Kip Martin and Alexei and Natalia Charov, as well as modern’s Terry Beck, Brian Sanders, and Myra Bazell. He also welcomes guest teachers and master artists into his school; most recently, Robert Battle of Battleworks and Itzik Galili of Galili Dance. In 2007, Koresh School of Dance was voted Best in Philly by Philadelphia Magazine.
Koresh has become an integral member of the Philadelphia arts community and his goal remains true: to sustain and increase the artistic reputation of Philadelphia. Roni contributes to this effort by initiating numerous inter-disciplinary projects with other local artists. Principal among these are composers Daniel Bacon, John Vosbikian, Zenon Feszczak, Eric Vincent, Gregory Smith and John Levis. Koresh has also forged a fruitful relationship with art photographers Martin Jackson and Pete Checchia, whose photos have created a comprehensive record of the company’s history.
Koresh continues to create two to three major new works each year. His repertoire now numbers over fifty pieces, most of which have been video archived and can readily be recreated. All have the stamp of stylistic synergy that characterizes his entire body of work. He is truly an artistic natural resource and a leading force, not only in the Philadelphia community, but also on the national and international level.