is a dance piece by Choreographer Hillel Kogan, for performer Danielle Agami that exposes the absurd negotiations of female identity in contemporary Western culture.
Do It Yourself is a contemporary dance solo created through the collaboration of award-winning choreographer Hillel Kogan and performer/choreographer Danielle Agami. The project emerged from Agami’s experience of living between cultures — born in Jerusalem, working for many years in the United States, and now based in Europe — and from a shared interest in how identity is constructed, performed, and negotiated through the body.
The work combines contemporary dance, spoken text, multilingual dialogue, rap, humor, and autobiographical storytelling. Through a sequence of shifting identity scenes, Agami navigates questions of nationality, gender, family expectations, independence, and belonging. Her body becomes a site where multiple cultural and racial narratives intersect, revealing the complexities of living between different languages, traditions, and social expectations.
Hillel Kogan is an award-winning choreographer, dancer, and creator. He began his career as a dancer in Israel’s contemporary dance scene with the Batsheva Dance Company, and later performed with various companies across Europe. His works engage with contemporary discourses on identity. His distinctive stage language combines humor and critique to examine the art world, popular culture, and contemporary society. Alongside his work in dance, he also creates for opera, theatre, and musical theatre.
Danielle Agami is an Israeli-born choreographer and dancer based in the United States and Europe. She danced with the Batsheva Dance Company before developing an independent artistic voice as a choreographer and performer. Her work explores identity, the body, and the tensions between personal biography and cultural narratives.
Performed by Danielle Agami
Choreography and Text Hillel Kogan
Light design Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)
Musical advisor Matan Daskal
Costumes Ariel Cohen and Danielle Agami
Musique Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Populous (feat. Emmanuelle), Max Richter, Hidden Orchestra
Adaptation to French version Noemie Dahan
Coproduction Hillel Kogan Dance, Ate9, Maison de la Culture de Bourges, France.
Residencies Centre national de la danse, Pantin France /Baryshnikov Arts Fellowship at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park NY / Maison de la Culture de Bourges
Photography: Asya Skorik
