Yair Vardi will open the 17th Belgrade Dance Festival on the 17th September on the stage in Sava Center.

Yair Vardi was born in Kibbutz Kfar Blum in 1948, and he was a principal dancer for both the Batsheva and Bat-Dor dance companies before joining the Rambert Company in London. While at the Rambert, he got the part in Christopher Bruce’s spectacular piece “Cruel Garden”, which was featured on the BBC channel, and he also danced with Rudolph Nureyev in Glen Tetley’s piece “Pierrot Lunaire” and performed in the gala program with Nureyev & Friends all across the world. In 1983 he became the Artistic and Executive Director of the English Dance Theatre in Newcastle. He returned to Israel in 1988, to become the director of the newly built Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre in Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv. His vision became the basis for the development of the Centre, that soon positioned itself as the main base and force in Israeli dance. Under his direction the Centre has provided studios for training, conditions for the artistic development and a world-class stage for many Israeli artists. Thanks to his contacts, the communication with the international scene and its most important representatives has been established. Local and international workshops, master classes and the connections between choreographers and dancers were initiated at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, as well as many local competitions, festivals, Israeli and international productions… As a choreographer, Vardi has created several pieces for the theatre and television. He is the recipient of the Kinor David Award for his first creation, “Asher elav nichsafti”, as well as the Tel-Aviv 's Rosenblum Award for his contribution to dance. He was also awarded the Prize for Excellence from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs, and the title of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his contribution to culture. He was the artistic advisor for the Karmiel Dance Festival, and for the dance program at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv. Alongside his work as the Director of the Suzanne Dellal Centre, Yair Vardi is the Head of the Dance Department at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem.