Avichai Scher

Choreographer
Avi Scher and Dancers

<b>DancePulp Video:</b><br />

DancePulp interview filmed. Scheduled release date to be announced. 

Avichai Scher was born in NYC. After living in Israel as a child for seven years, he returned to New York and started studying on scholarship at the School of American Ballet at age ten. There he had the opportunity to perform Fritz and the Nutcracker Prince with New York City Ballet in The Nutcracker for four seasons. As a child, he also appeared with American Ballet Theater and Paris Opera Ballet. He continued his training at SAB until age 18, and then studied briefly at the Miami City Ballet School. In the summers he sought instruction at the International Ballet Master classes in Prague, with Francine Richard in Bordeaux, France, San Francisco Ballet School, and Jacob’s Pillow, where he earned the Strassler Excellence Award.

A desire to work with many different companies and choreographers took him on a journey, dancing with ten different companies in 6 years. The first was Sacramento Ballet, continuing on to Washington Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Joffrey Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, European Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Carolina Ballet and Ballet X. He also appeared as a guest with Ballet Chicago, Chamber Dance Project, Madison Ballet, Pointe of Departure, and the Adam Miller Dance Project. Some standout roles have included: Puck in Ashton’s The Dream, working with Sir Anthony Dowell, “Red-Man” in Elemental Brubeck, choreographed and staged by Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris’s A Garden, Michael Smuin’s Shinju, Matthew Neenan’s Steelworks, and Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs.

Scher always had the desire to be a choreographer and created his first piece in 2001 at age 16 for the SAB choreography workshop. He participated in three of those workshops in total, and also created two pieces for the Miami City Ballet Summer Program. His first professional commission came at age 18, creating Jouons for American Ballet Theater Studio Company. The same year he also choreographed The Perilous Night for Miami City Ballet. He went on to create many works for schools and Junior Companies: two works for Miami City Ballet’s 2003 annual showcase, San Francisco Ballet School’s 2004 and 2005 annual showcases, two works for Usdan Center for the Arts in 2004, two works for the Washington Ballet Studio Company in 2004, Harvard University in 2006, and Festival Ballet Providence Junior Company in 2007. He showed work at the West Wave Dance Festival in 2005, and Ballet Builders and HATCH in 2008. In addition he created works for Sacramento Ballet in 2004 and Festival Ballet Providence in 2008. He made his theater debut in 2008, choreographing the play Three Movements which ran at NYC’s Theatre Row. In 2005, DANCE Magazine recognized his work by putting him in the “Top 25 To Watch.”