Ester Kaplan

What my show actually looks like

My territory is noir luxury. I work dark lounges with whisky on the shelves rather than pink penthouses, and that difference is not only aesthetic — it decides how the show is built.

Slow movement, long black gloves, a silk scarf. I have a heavy, serious gaze, which is not something I put on — it is simply how I look, and in this style it works for me. I do not smile at the room and I do not try to soften it.

My dark line is an aesthetic rather than a session. There is a character, a costume and an atmosphere, and nothing beyond the performance. I say that in the first message so there is no confusion.

Who I suit

Lounge events, hotel suites, noir themed evenings, themed parties. Villas with a library or a bar.

A birthday for someone who has seen everything and is not impressed by an ordinary show. A small company event too — my style is elegant rather than crude.

Where I fit less: a big group wanting to laugh and shout. I work on tension, and a loud room breaks it within a minute.

Where it works

A space with dark character — leather, dark wood, concrete, a library. Very low light, ideally a single lamp. I do not need much room; two metres and an armchair is enough.

Much of my work is in central Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Herzliya, and a great deal in hotels.

What I do not do

No session, no pain, no restraint, nothing beyond the show. I write it explicitly because the style makes people assume, and it comes up in the messages almost weekly.

I do not smile or lighten the mood on request. Anyone who wanted something light booked the wrong dancer.

No touching unless I invite it, no filming. The show ends when it ends, with no afterwards.

How I got into this

I studied photography. For six years I assisted a fashion photographer, and mostly I watched — light, poses, what makes a picture work. That is my real school rather than dance.

The photographer I worked for shot a noir series and I was the model because nobody else was free. When I saw the result I understood I was good at this specific thing, and that it was not an accident.

I am thirty, four of those years performing. I still shoot, and I read the light in a room before I take the costume out of the bag.

What I bring and what I need from you

Two outfits, long gloves, a silk scarf, shoes and the music — trip-hop, jazz noir, sometimes slow electronica.

From you: one side lamp and the ceiling light off. It is the request I repeat, because the whole style is built on shadow.

And an armchair or a sofa. Half my show is built on being seated, and a room with no furniture limits me.

Mistakes people make when they book me

Assuming the style implies something else. It does not. I say so in advance, and if the question returns during the evening I finish and leave.

Full lighting. It kills everything you booked me for.

A loud group. I am not the choice. Tell me how many of you there are and I will point you somewhere better.

Putting me first. My entrance is half the show and it only works once the room is focused.

What I ask before I confirm

What the space looks like. Leather, dark wood, a bar — excellent. A bright living room with a beige sofa — less so, and then I suggest someone else and say who.

How dark it can get. With no way to kill the ceiling light, half the show goes.

Who is in the room and how much they have drunk. I need an audience able to watch quietly. After five hours that is not my audience.

What you are expecting. I ask directly, because in my style a misunderstanding is expensive for both sides.

What happens between booking and the door

After we agree you get the hour, a request about lighting, and one sentence: the show is a show and nothing else. I send it to everyone rather than only to people who sound suspect.

On the day I message when I leave. I arrive in a long coat over everything, because leather on the street draws attention nobody needs.

I ask for a side room for five minutes and the show starts from there. At the end I change back, take the payment and leave quietly.

What is included and what is not

In the price: the show, the costume, the music and travel within the metro area. No service charge and no costume surcharge.

Not included: lighting and a speaker. For a suite booking, parking is yours, and that is said in the first message.

Why I state the boundary up front

I could stay quiet and assume it is obvious. I do not, and there is a practical reason.

The dark style generates expectations that have nothing to do with what I do. Someone who saw a photograph in leather sometimes reads it as an invitation to a different conversation, and if nothing is said he arrives with a plan in his head. Then comes the awkward moment mid-show in front of friends, and everybody loses.

When it is in the first message, anyone looking for something else simply does not book. It costs me work and it saves evenings that end badly. I prefer that trade.

It works the other way too: whoever does book knows exactly what they are getting, and the evening can start without unnecessary tension in the air.

When somebody else suits you better

If the room is bright, loud or laughing, not me. I would suggest Dina Klein for something light and retro, or Yonit Dror for high energy.

And if you liked the dark line but want it softer, Rivka Stone and Lilit Morgan work in the same family in different registers.

Booking me

Name, hour, address, how many guests and what the room is like. I always ask about the room.

Standard price, no deposit. The whole gallery is here. If you are not sure the style fits the evening, describe it in two lines and I will answer plainly, including when the answer is that somebody else suits you better.