My name is Tzaphira (Allison) Stern
I'm a Dance-Activist
Dance is a tool for social change.
I am Tzaphira Stern, a choreographer and researcher, leading dance projects for social change, and translating embodied knowledge into ethnographic and reflective writing.
Starting with the protest against women's exclusion that I initiated in 2011, through founding 'Dancing for Change' in 2021, I create projects that use movement to foster political-feminist imagination in the city of Jerusalem:
Community Dance
Dance Classes for empowering women aged 60+. Read more about the classes.
Lectures and Theoretical Content
Writing and lectures on dance as a tool for activism in the public space. View the list of lectures.
Dance Activism
Initiating social projects to create change, such as empowering Palestinian women in East Jerusalem through movement. Read about the project.
Professional Experience
2001-2007 Independent choreographer. Dance teacher at the High School of the Arts, Jerusalem.
2001-2007 Co-founder of the Mochol-Shelem Dance Festival. Co-artistic director and producer.
2010-2018 Kolben Dance School manager and improvisation teacher.
2019 – Today, Founder of "Dance for a Change," an independent dance-activism initiative. Dance improvisation classes with somatic therapeutic practices - for the healing and empowerment of Palestinian women in East Jerusalem and other communities in need.
Articles about my activism
My Publications
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"Dancing Pandemic: Between Helplessness and Discipline," Mabatim: Journal of Visual Culture, Issue 2, Ben Gurion University. February 2023.
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"There is a Hole in the Bucket" Protest-dance. Dance Today, Issue 43. February 2023.
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"Public Choreography During Pandemic." Dance Today, Issue 39, pp. 21-23, February 2021.
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"The Choreography of Social Drama in the BLM Protest, 2020." Dance Today, Issue 40, pp. 26-29. September 2021.
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Tzaphira Allison Stern and Dani Schrire, "We Must Move On." Gillion, Journal of Jerusalem Urbanism, Issue 5, pp. 7-13. Winter 2021.
- "A Choreographic Perspective of the Everyday During Covid-19, 2020", Israeli Dance Research Convention, "Body in Crisis: Dance Pandemic and Protest," February 2022.