Ohad Naharin is situated at the forefront of the international dance scene. After performing with Batsheva Dance Company and the troupes of Martha Graham and Maurice Béjart, Naharin embarked on his choreographic career in 1980. His works have been staged on companies around the globe, and in 2018, Naharin assumed the role of Batsheva’s House Choreographer. As artistic director of Batsheva from 1990-2018, he guided the company with an adventurous artistic vision and reinvigorated its repertory with his captivating choreography. Naharin’s work was chronicled in Tomer Heymann’s documentary, Mr. Gaga (2015).
Parallel to his work as a choreographer and artistic director, Naharin has developed Gaga, an innovative and constantly evolving movement language that is available to both dancers and non-dancers. Gaga originated from Naharin’s need to communicate with his dancers and his curiosity in the ongoing research of movement. Gaga has revolutionized Batsheva’s training, enriched dancers’ interpretation of Naharin’s repertory, and emerged as a growing force in the larger field of movement practices worldwide.

Ian Robinson was born in Bangor, Maine USA. He trained with the Robinson Ballet and graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA. Robinson danced with various companies and projects including Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hells Kitchen Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Sydney Dance Company and Aszure Barton & Artists before joining Batsheva Dance Company in 2009. Until 2017 Robinson danced there full time under the artistic leadership of Ohad Naharin. Robinson now continues independently to develop himself as a dancer, creator, teacher and videographer. He is a certified Gaga teacher, stages Ohad’s works and leads classes and workshops for dance communities around the world.

Londiwe Khoza was born in South Africa in 1993. She studied at Cape Academy of Performing Arts from 2012 to 2014 and graduated with Distinction and top honours. Simultaneously, Khoza was a soloist at the Cape Dance Company. In 2015, she was invited to study at the Central School of Ballet in the UK and to dance with the Joburg Ballet, South Africa’s most prestigious ballet company. Khoza joined Batsheva – The Young Ensemble in 2016 as an apprentice as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, as a protégé of Ohad Naharin. She joined Batsheva – the Young Ensemble in 2017 and Batsheva Dance Company in 2020. She became a certified Gaga teacher in 2019.

Annika Verplancke was born in 2000 in Brussels and is Belgian/American with Filipino roots. She studied at Le PNSD Rosella Hightower in France from 2016 until 2018. In 2018, Annika was a guest dancer with Staatsteather Nürnberg Ballett in Germany before she attended The Juilliard School from August 2018 until May 2019. In August 2019, she joined Nederlands Dans Theater 2 where she was involved in numerous new creations, performances, and international tours for 3 years. She then went on to join the Batsheva Ensemble in 2022 and the Batsheva Dance Company in 2024.

Annika became a certified Gaga teacher in 2025.

Since 2018, Annika has been able to create at least one new work of her own yearly thanks to several choreographic development platforms. For the 2025-2026 season, Annika assisted Ohad Naharin in his new creation for Batsheva Dance Company.

Annika is now based in Europe as a freelance performer, choreographer, and teacher. She is also a certified yoga teacher and naturopathy student.

“Gaga returns me to the moment, my body, and my creativity. It is a bottomless fuel tank for discovery, transformation, and imagination – in my dance and in my life.”