Shmulik Gov-Ari is a talented dance choreographer, and master teacher. He was born to an Orthodox Yemenite Jewish family in Nahariya, Israel. His work explores the deepest parts of the human soul through ethnic folkdance.

He has choreographed more than 300 dances utilizing both music thousands of years old and contemporary pieces, with some of his original works making their way into the classical Israeli folk dance repertoire. His dances tell the story of Israel as well as stories of Israeli life. Shmulik traces his original dance choreography style to the pervasive pulsating rhythm of the Yemenite tarbuka.

Shmulik has been influenced by his formative multi-cultural experiences in Acco, where he performed as a teenager with the celebrated Beit Hagefen Israeli Folk Dance Group, a company comprised of both Israeli Arabs and Jews. In the late 1970’s he went on to professionally dance with the world-acclaimed Karmon Dance Troupe, performing throughout Israel, Europe and South Africa. While a member of Wingate’s teaching faculty (University of Sport, Natanya) he further pioneered the art of using dance as a bridge between young Arabs and Jews. Shmulik has founded Israeli Dance performance troupes in Israel. He has also created innovative educational programs combining music and dance while in Greenwich, Connecticut where he served as a shaliah (a messenger). Shmulik directs international dance camps and seminars, and his years of experience and influence on dance make him an esteemed ambassador of Israeli folk dance throughout the world.