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 with his mother, a folk dancer in the Yemenite tradition, and with a local Tel Aviv folk dance group. Two of Roni's earliest teachers in Israel were Alida Gera and Micha Deri. At 17, he moved on to more comprehensive study with Nira Paz and Moshe Romano and then became a member of Martha Graham’s Batsheva 2 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 dance field.
Immigrating to the United States in 1983, Roni trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, but it was in Philadelphia that he chose to spend his life and let his artistic expression be realized. In 1984, Roni began performing 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.
n 1991, Roni accomplished a lifelong dream and formed Koresh Dance Company. Since then, they have performed throughout the world, traveling to over 25 different states, as well as to South Korea, Turkey and Israel. Roni has created a repertory of over 60 works, most of which have been video archived and can readily be recreated. He continues to create two to three new works each year. Attributable to Roni's unique and engaging choreographic style, his work has been commissioned by numerous companies across the country including: Odyssey Dance Theatre in Salt Lake City, UT; Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle, WA; the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, CA; Dance Celebration: a co-presentation of Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents in Philadelphia, PA; and Brandywine Ballet in West Chester, PA.
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. For his choreography, he has received individual fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts.
Roni embarked on his teaching career at an early stage while he continued to train and perform professionally. He began teaching at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1986 and remains on faculty as a professor of jazz dance to this day. In 1993, Roni fulfilled another dream and opened the Koresh School of Dance in Philadelphia where he teaches weekly classes and workshops. The studio serves as the home base for his company and has also become a mecca for dancers of all ages in the community. In addition to teaching locally, he has taught master classes and created choreography on students throughout the country. His expertise is frequently requested as he is invited to be a guest teacher and speaker at various festivals such as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Northwest National Dance Project.
Over the years, Roni has become an integral member of the local 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 Marko, Eric Vincent, Gregory Smith, John Levis and Karl Mullen. Roni has also forged a fruitful relationship with art photographers Martin Jackson, Pete Checchia, Cylla von Tiedeman, Gabriel Bienczycki and Mark and Danya Henninger. Roni is truly an artistic resource and a leading force, not only in the Philadelphia community, but also on the national and international level.