Moxie People | Meet Dancer Danai Porat
In our FW20 edit 'Patterns of Motion' we brought the designers' items together with another form of creation- dance. Dancers, in their movement and essence, make the items shine in a new light. The flow of the fabrics and cuts to us means creativity in motion.
Fashion has a major part in a dancer’s day to day- from the costumes at shows that complete and complement the dancers’ movement to the everyday outfits that must allow the dancers’ comfort and facilitate their freedom of movement.
To us, collaborating with dancers, allowing them to move freely in front of the camera and take their creation to wherever the items may lead them, means discovering new aspects of each item. A meeting point of different forms of creation – local design and local dance.
Each outfit mixes items from different designers and styles, all hand-picked from our mixture >> Shop the Patterns of Motion looks.
Meet Danai Porat, a dancer in the renowned Batsheva Ensemble.
Me
Danai Porat, 20, I live in Tel-Aviv. I was born in Paros island, Greece where I lived until the age of 8. When I arrived here, I started taking interest in different hobbies, that’s where I first got acquainted with dancing. During my studies at the Thelma Yellin high school of arts, I realized that dancing is an art I want to explore and study every day, that is if I’m lucky enough.
That’s how I joined at the age of 17.5 the company I’ve been dreaming of since I started dancing. It is now my third year as a dancer in the Batsheva Ensemble.
Dancing
I really love my job and constantly cherish the opportunity I’ve been given to basically do what I love the most. The deep dialogue I have with my body gives me a great deal of calmness.
I am in a constant process of learning the body in the past years, though it’s only recently that I feel that through dance and with the new skills I acquired in my movement, I am also able to treat my body, physically and mentally.
Personally, I believe that connecting and working with your body is one of the most important skills we have.
It’s safe to say that preforming on stage, being viewed by hundreds and thousands of people is challenging, though I think it’s one of the pillars of why I’m in this profession.
When I preform on stage I feel like I’m the best version of myself, that is how I communicate best and express myself.
These Days
I’m currently in a busy routine of rehearsals and shows with the company, almost all of my energy is focused there. We are working on materials we’ve already preformed with and one we are now introduced to.
This period following the Covid-19 outbreak, has made me widen my horizons, try to figure out what I want to be as a human being and especially as a dancer.
I do all sorts of small projects when I have the time and energy to do so, and look into my future. I explore the gaga language more thoroughly, try to think more of my own creation rather than just looking at things as a performer, and investigate new directions.
Fashion
I think that beautiful clothes we love and feel comfortable in, will always make us feel better. Wearing items that I truly love makes me feel confident, and the more comfortable I am in my second skin’ the more sociable I get and preform better in different situations. Frequently at work, if I wear something I’m not completely comfortable with I feel that my performance is affected and vice versa. It’s similar on stage, with our costumes- there is a direct link between the way we feel in our clothes and the quality of our performance.
