Ohad Naharin is one of the world’s preeminent contemporary choreographers and has been the recipient of several major awards. Born in 1952 in Kibbutz Mizra, Mr. Naharin trained at Batsheva Dance Company, The School of American Ballet, The Juilliard School, and Maurice Béjart’s Ballet du XXe Siècle in Brussels, among others. After living in New York from 1978-1990, he returned to Israel in 1990 when he was appointed Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company. Mr. Naharin has since choreographed over 20 works exclusively for Batsheva, and he has restaged many of those works for companies around the world. He has also pioneered “Gaga,” a movement language that emphasizes exploration of sensation with improvisational techniques. Mr. Naharin dedicates the Ailey performances of Minus 16 to his late wife Mari Kajiwara (1951-2001), who was a dancer with the Ailey company from 1970-1984.