Gideon Obarzanek

Who is Gideon Obarzanek?

Gideon Obarzanek is an Australian choreographer and the former Artistic Director of Melbourne, Australia based contemporary dance company Chunky Move which he formed in 1995, in collaboration with Garry Stewart.

Gideon Obarzanek spent his early childhood in Israel on an agricultural kibbutz. His family returned to Melbourne where he took jazz ballet lessons, he later went to the Australian Ballet School, graduating in 1987. He danced with the Queensland Ballet after graduation. He later joined the Sydney Dance Company before pursuing a career as a performer and choreographer with various dance companies and independent projects within Australia and abroad. In that period he worked with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Opera Australia and the Netherlands Dance Theatre.

His works for Chunky Move included stage productions, installations, site-specific works and film. His works have been performed in many festivals and theatres around the world in the U.K, Europe, Asia and the Americas. In New York, he has been presented at BAM Next Wave Festival, Dance Theatre Workshop and the Joyce Theatre.