ABOUT US
The Company
LeeSaar The Company was established in Israel in 2000 by Lee Sher and Saar Harari. The company uses the different disciplines and training of Theater and Dance to create original dance performances.
The company members are from Taiwan, Korea, the United States, Canada and Israel.
In 2004, after residency in Sydney, Australia, and two seasons in Tel Aviv, the company moved to NYC where it is currently based. In 2005, Lee and Saar received American green cards awarded for excellence in the performing arts.
Lee, Saar and the company received the following fellowship and Grants:
- Six points fellowship 2007
- NYFA fellowship 2008
- Guggenheim Fellowship 2008
- The BUILD Grant from NYFA in 2010
- The Map Fund 2010
- TMU 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013
- The Asian Cultural Council 2010
- The Greenwall Foundation, 2008, 2009, 2010
- NDP from NEFA 2010. 2012
- Bessie Nomination 2012
- Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 2013, 2014
“The Israeli contemporary choreographers Saar Harari and Lee Sher moved to New York two years ago and promptly made a name for themselves” The New Yorker
LeeSaar the Company, a gutsy, brainy modern-dance troupe founded seven years ago in Tel Aviv. The NY Times
Lee Sher
From the age of seven she performed at the Israeli first channel on T.V.
At the age of 15 she got accepted to the high school of arts in Tel Aviv, at the age of 18 she joined the army. In the army she served at the parachuter’s unit. At the age of 23 she got accepted to the three years acting studio in Tel Aviv by the management of Nissan Native. During the school production Lee played leading roles and graduate with success.
Lee participated (2 seasons) in The Drama Series “Dream of My Youth” on Channel Three in Israel.
She got the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarships with excellence between the years 1998-2000.
In 2000 she established LeeSaar The Company with the choreographer Saar Harari. The Company received a scholarship from the Art Gallery of Mosman – Sydney in Australia were she wrote, directed and performed the play” Ester”.
The play had been chosen to open the spring season of the City Hall Theater in Tel Aviv with a two years run at the City Hall and at the Tzavata theater. Lee had participated in the workshop of the choreographer Yasmeen Godder. She also took part in intensive workshop with the French master Philip gollyea. In January 2004 Lee moved to NYC with LeeSaar the Company and received the American green card for the Extraordinary Achievement in the Performing Arts. In NYC she performed in The Flea Theater, Joyce SoHo, The Puffin room, The Theater For The New City, 92-Y, and Performance Space 122. In September 2005 Columbia university invited LeeSaar the company to present the piece “Ester” at the Lerner Hall Theater.
Lee works as a Physical Director on Broadway, Lately on the “Miracle worker”
Saar Harari
Saar was born on a farm in Israel to an artistic family and danced until the age of 18. At that age, he joined the Israeli special forces for 6 years. He left the Army and started to dance again at the age of 24. In 1998 he created his first work as an independent choreographer for a dance festival at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv.
In 2001, Saar established LeeSaar The Company with Lee Sher, relocating to NYC in 2004. The company has been commissioned to create full evening dance programs by theaters and festivals in New York City, Portland, Austin, Seattle, Vancouver, Montclair among other places. The Company has 7 permanent dancers and rehearses daily. Saar is a Gaga teacher and the Executive Producer, of Gaga USA.
Saar received an American green card for his art making. He is the recipient of the Six Point Fellowship in choreography, a Guggenheim Fellowship in choreography, and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.
The Dancers:
photo by Daniel Francisco Valdez.
Hyerin Lee-Rehearsal director
Was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. She received her Bachelor and Master degree in dance from the Korea National University of Arts. in 2007 She joined LDP dance company where she toured internationally. in 2008 she did a project with Gilles Jobin in Switzerland and then joined LeeSaar The Company and moved to NYC. She received her O-1 visa from 2008-2014 and received her Green-card for the excellent in the arts of dance in 2015.
Jye-Hwei Lin
Jye-Hwei was born in the year of pig in Taiwan. Her parents sent her to dance classes according to a doctor’s suggestion as a way to correct “the hyperextension of her knees.” Since then, dancing had always been a pleasure thing for her. Dance was never considered as a career until she enrolled in the dance division in Tso-ying high school at the age of 15. During her time in Tso-Ying, she received professional training in various dance courses and was able to work with different choreographers around the world.
After high school, JyeHwei chose to move to the States and to pursue the bachelor degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she was awarded scholarship for 4 years. Through her time in Illinois, she cried through the phrase of not-understand-a-word, she fought her way to search the difference between an artist and a student, she sweated both inside and outside of the studio. She had the privilege to be in the works of world-renowned artists such as Mark Morris, Lar Lubovitch, Chamecki Lerner, and Merce Cunningham. The diversity courses in the department challenged and inspired JyeHwei’s way of moving and thinking. JyeHwei had also presented a solo work “Come to Nothing” and her thesis “One Step Back; Two Steps Forward” at the Krannert Arts Performing Center.
Upon graduation, she moved to New York in the summer of 2006. JyeHwei was fortunate to study and perform with Stephen Petronio dance Company in New York and California.
In April, 2007, she joined LeeSaar the Company. In 2008, JyeHwei presented her own work “Jula” with Hsin-Yi at Judson Memorial Church, NYC. JyeHwei received her O1 Visa for extraordinary ability in the arts in June 2008
Hsin-Yi Hsiang
Hsin-Yi Hsiang (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) began her extensive dance training and received her high school diploma from Tsoying Senior High School and soon relocated to the United States where she received her bachelor of fine arts in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2007. During her time at UIUC, she performed in works created by Merce Cunningham, Mark Morris, David Parker & The Bang Group, Sara Hook, Cynthia Oliver, Renee Wadleigh, Linda Lehovec, and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol.
Since moving to New York City in 2007, she has performed with Paul Singh and Kimberly Young and was selected to perform with the Mark Morris Dance Group in their 2007 season of “The Hard Nut”.
Hsin-Yi Joined LeeSaar The Company in Fall 2007. Hsin-Yi received her O1 Visa for extraordinary ability in the arts in September 2008
Candice Schnurr
grew up in Houston, TX and received her early training from the Houston Ballet Academy and Priscilla Nathan-Murphy. She attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts and was the recipient of the Musicfest Scholarship. Candice graduated cum laude from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase College where she had the pleasure of performing in the works of Kyle Abraham, Kayvon Pourazar, Megan Williams, and Kevin Wynn. She danced with Natalie Green, Miriam Wolfe, Leah Morrison, Daniel Charon, and Andrea Haenggi. She was a member of Wil Swanson/DANCEWORKS from 2003-2005 and had the unique opportunity to perform in BAM’s production of Lost Objects, an oratorio written by Bang on a Can and staged by Francois Girard. From 2005-2007, Candice worked with Ellis Wood Dance, touring nationally and internationally, teaching, and setting work on university students. Candice was selected for “The Yard” dance company and collaborated in the creation of two original works with Sharon Moore (Toronto) and Howard Katz (Berlin) at the 2008 summer residency. She was honored to join LeeSaar the Company in the fall of 2008. Her own work, Solo, was selected for BAX’s 2009 inaugural season of the Upstart Festival and she collaborated in “The Soft Light Signature,” a video and movement study with STOMP alum and video artist, Patrick Lovejoy.
Motrya Kozbur
Grew up in River Forest, IL and began her training in ballet and Ukrainian dance. She performed with Hromovytsia Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in the United States and Europe. Motrya received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Boston Conservatory. There she danced in works by José Limón, James Viera, Alwin Nikolais, and Thang Dao, among others. Motrya participated in Springboard Danse Montréal 2012 where she performed the work of Danielle Russo and Marie Chouinard. She joined LeeSaar The Company in the fall of 2012.
Yasmin Mahmoud
Was born in Miami, FL in 1993. She graduated from New World School of the Arts high school in 2011 and continued to study dance at Florida State University, SUNY Purchase, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Yasmin joined LeeSaar the Company in 2014.