Shlomo Maman
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Shlomo Maman was born in 1953 in a small neighborhood near Tiberias. At 13, he began dancing; inspired by a performance at Kibbutz Gesher. He started folk dancing at the session of Shlomo Marzan.
Performance Choreography
He completed his army service as a paratrooper and founded his first dance company, Lehakat Kinneret, using a grant he received from the army. The troupe did local performances and launched Maman’s career as a performance choreographer. As 22, he joined Lehakat Inbal (the Inbal Dance Company), directed by Sara Levi-Tanai and toured the world performing with this company. After he left Lehakat Inbal, he joined the Lahakat Karmon, under the direction of the incomparable Yonatan Karmon. Karmon founded the Karmiel Dance Festival in 1988, the direction of which Maman would take over after Karmon’s retirement in 1999. Maman created choreography for Israel’s entries into Eurovision in 1982 (Hora by Avi Toledano – 2nd place), 1983 (Chai by Ofra Chaza – 2nd place), and 1985 (Ole Ole by Izhar Cohen - 5th place). Over the years, Shlomo has run many performing troupes including Lehakat HaStudentim at Tel Aviv University, Shemesh Karmiel in Turkey, and Oranim in London.
Recreational Israeli Dance
Shlomo’s first recreational Israeli dance, with close to 300 to follow, was Tov LaLechet BaDrachim created in 1975. He created many classics and hits in recreational Israeli dance; in 2007, his dance Neve Midbar won 2nd prize in the Karmiel choreography competition and became a worldwide hit. For many years, Shlomo was the artistic director of Hora Aviv, a dance camp in Eastern Pennsylvania directed by Shmuel Batzri. At Hora Aviv, he brought many choreographers to the US for the first time including Rafi Ziv and Kobi Michaeli. Shlomo managed and directed Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations in Rabin Square from 2010 until 2021, when the square was demolished to make room for the city’s light rail. He continues to lead Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations in Jerusalem alongside Mimi Kogan and Hila Mukdasi. As of 2025, Shlomo runs a free Saturday session on Gordon Beach in Tel Aviv along with Andre Schor and various guest choreographers. He continues to be invited to dance camps all over the world to teach new choreographies.
Accolades
In 2017, Education Minister Naftali Bennet awarded Maman the Ministry of Education and Culture Award for his contributions to the field of Israeli dance. In 2025, Maman was awarded the Prize of Israel in Dance. This award is the most prestigious civilian award in Israel and considered the state’s highest cultural honor. Past winners of this award include Naomi Shemer, Amos Oz, and Golda Meir. See the presentation here (Hebrew).
Family
He has a daughter, Lital, a dancer in her own right, for whom the dance Bat Shlomo was choreographed in 1998.
Sources
https://sixonstage.com/person/shlomo%20maman
https://magazines.rokdim.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/3-117-002-2025-ENG.pdf