How The Ilan Lev Method Earned Its Popularity Among Dancers Worldwide

How the Ilan Lev Method became the most popular treatment method amongst dancers in Israel and why this method is appropriate for dance companies and dance centers

Ilan Lev studied reflexology, bio-energy and the Feldenkrais method and found his own path that resulted in the Ilan Lev Method we know today. Ilan describes himself as a ‘continuer’ of Moshe Feldenkrais and a developer of his method.

During his life as a therapist, his way of treating was shaped and reshaped and today he continues to develop and enrich his methodology.

In 2001, Batsheva Dance Company dancers, Talia Landa and Sharon Eyal, found their way to Ilan for a treatment. They both had serious injuries; Talia had a back problem and Sharon a knee injury. Ilan managed to cure both ailments and word slowly got around in a closed circle of people that this treatment existed.

Finally word arrived to Ohad Naharin himself when he suffered from a herniated disk injury that prevented him from functioning properly. Ilan managed to help Ohad recover fully. This moment in time was where Ilan’s real connection to the dance world was made.

Ohad’s words about the Ilan Lev Method

"I find Ilan's work an amazing gift to dancers and people alike. His work helps the body's own regeneration. It brings movement to blocked areas in the body, it comes with positive energy and sense of joy, it can help quicker recovery from "fresh injuries" as well as heal old ones... It helped me to become more efficient with my movement and gave me a more balanced body... His work is intelligent, thoughtful, considerate, and is a constant research of growth for Ilan himself as well as for those he works with."

By 2008, the Batsheva Ensemble received Ilan Lev’s treatments for a full year. This resulted in a significant decline in the amount of injuries; from an average of 10 injuries a year to only 2. This exemplified that the treatment not only cures but also prevents injuries from happening. In 2009, there was no way around it and the Ilan Lev Method became one of the official treatments that the Batsheva Dance Company dancers received weekly.

After the success this treatment had with Batsheva, companies like Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and Vertigo Dance Company soon followed, as well as many dance students and freelance dancers throughout the country.

Since 2005, Ilan started educating people about his method and how to treat according to his vision. He started out with 10 students and by now each course has at least 40 students spread in two groups that learn to become practitioners each year.

How I learned about the method

While dancing with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company was when I first experienced the method firsthand. I too received treatments for a herniated disk injury and this method has been a key element in my path back to health.

In 2012, I started to dance with Vertigo Dance Company and I decided to start studying the Ilan Lev Method in the evenings to become a practitioner myself.

Since 2013 I have been treating dancers from Vertigo Dance Company, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company along with many other professional dancers and dance students.

This is in short how the Ilan Lev Method became known and desired by dancers in Israel and how it found a place in my heart as well.

I am super excited to be the first to bring this method to The Netherlands.