Dancer-choreographer Lazaro Godoy brings his unique flavor to Tel Aviv from Cuba via New York and Europe.
By ORI J. LENKINSKILazaro Godoy 224-88(photo credit: Courtesy)
Every now and then, listening to someone's life story can be so pleasurable that you lose all sense of time and place - as if his story cannot be measured by the minute hand on a clock.
Sitting with Lazaro Godoy at a coffee shop in Tel Aviv, I was fully captivated both by the content and delivery of his experiences as an artist. Godoy is a dancer and choreographer who recently moved to Tel Aviv.
Although he has only been here for six months, Godoy has quickly become known and admired in the Israeli dance community. During the two hours we sat together, Godoy affectionately recapped the 31 years of his life.
Born in Cuba in 1977, he was introduced to hardship at an early age. "The Soviet Union collapsed and then Cuba was totally alone. I remember going to school for breakfast and getting a glass of water with sugar," Godoy recalled.
Recently, he presented his solo Lemon Juice at The Suzanne Dellal Center. "I was always looking for lemon," he says, "for the flavor. The solo I created is from all those memories. If you don't add sugar, it's bitter, like life. They put sugar and water and I was looking for the lemon."
At the age of 15, Godoy moved with his mother and sister to Miami to seek out a better environment. "That was one of the big changes in my life," he said. "It was a very difficult time. We had nothing. Only our photos. No clothes. It was intense. We had some family there already, but they were having a hard time."
It took a while for the Godoys to find their feet in Miami. After six months, Lazaro Godoy enrolled at The New World School of the Arts. Three years later he won first place in the prestigious NFAA Arts Competition in New York City for a solo that he choreographed. He was then offered a scholarship to Julliard.
Under the tutelage of the great Benjamin Harkavy, Godoy was encouraged to put aside choreography for the sake of improving his dance technique.
With nostalgia in his voice, Godoy explained, "He never let me choreograph. He always told me: First dance, then choreograph. You have time for it later. Dance, train, have experience."
Julliard is known to offer the best dance training available in America. One of the many elements that sets Julliard apart from other schools is its practice of introducing students to big-name choreographers and their work.
In fact, Godoy mentioned the work of Israeli choreographer Yigal Perry as being the most memorable that the Julliard students were taught to perform during his time there.
UPON GRADUATING, Godoy moved to Europe. He found a home in Stijn Celis's Bern Ballet, where he worked for five years. This was also where Godoy met his wife, Yael. When the company disbanded last year, Godoy debated about where to go next. He was offered a job with Cirque Du Soleil, but he turned it down in order to establish a home with his wife in Israel.
"Everything happened so fast. I tried to plan, but not too much. Anything can happen. I don't like to hold onto anything - like in my solo, at the end I take off my clothes. It's about letting go. Nowadays everyone dances naked. In art, we let go of [what is typically] precious."
Obviously, moving to a new country can be shocking, especially moving to a place as dynamic as Israel. "You get a lot of strength from the people, too," Godoy points out.
It's warm - not like in Europe - there isn't this social distance. Here, you look at someone, it's like a reflection. It's the same with art. People will tell you what they think. I find that is much better here. You are able to express yourself honestly."
Godoy has enjoyed the kind of success in the past six months that most dancers dream of. He is to join Inbal Pinto Dance Company's production of Hydra this year. Currently, he is working with choreographer Sahar Azimi on a project that will be presented at the Inbal Theater sometime this fall. In addition, he is working with choreographer Maya Levi on a piece to be shown at The Suzanne Dellal Center this winter.
On top of all of that, he plans to choreograph a new work and continue to show Lemon Juice as much as possible.
To finish off our time together, I asked Godoy what his favorite thing about being a dancer was. His answer came from a place of a beautiful understanding of his craft. "When you are on stage, you feel you can share who you are, this part of you that is living with you most of the time. It's a communication between audience and performer. It's not about me, it's about sharing."
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