Michal Rosen

What my show actually looks like

I am thirty two and I do not hide it. It is my advantage and it is what separates me from most of the gallery. My style is built on control of tempo rather than acrobatics.

I can stretch a single glove across two minutes without it becoming boring. That sounds like boasting and it is simply what arrives after ten years on stage: you stop being afraid of silence and start using it.

I do not work loud clubs. I work hotels, premium private events and cocktail lounges with leather chairs — places where you can hear someone breathe.

Who I suit

A birthday for a man in his forties or fifties. That is where I work best, because we speak the same language and I do not have to pretend to be twenty.

A couples evening, an evening in a hotel, a small company event. And a stag night for an older group that no longer needs shouting to enjoy itself.

Where I fit less: a group of twenty two year olds who want noise. There I look like someone who arrived at the wrong party, and I will say so in advance.

Where it works

A room with a decent armchair and low light. I do not need space, I need atmosphere. A hotel suite is my perfect setting, and after that a living room with a deep sofa.

I work in north Tel Aviv, Herzliya and across the metro area, and a great deal in hotels.

What I do not do

I do not rush and I do not do a “harder” show. The slow tempo is not a style I picked, it is what I do well, and at speed I look like everyone else.

No touching unless I invite it, no filming. The show ends when it ends, with no afterwards — and I get asked about that more than the younger dancers do, so I state it plainly.

How I got into this

I started at twenty two, in bars. For two years I did what everyone does: fast, hard, without thinking. Then I realised I was not the best at that game and never would be, because there is always someone younger.

So I changed the game. I started working slowly, and within a year found there was an entire audience looking for exactly that and nobody serving it. Today I work fewer evenings and earn more than I did at twenty five.

Ten years in the profession. I am the only one in the gallery who has been through the “how much longer can this last” stage and come out the other side.

What I bring and what I need from you

A suit or a wrap dress, long gloves, shoes and my music — jazz, soul, sometimes slow trip-hop.

From you: an armchair or a comfortable chair, low light and a speaker. I do not need space or a high ceiling, which makes me one of the easiest bookings in the gallery.

What does matter is that the room is not chaos. With a television on and three people on the phone, my show simply does not register.

Mistakes people make when they book me

Booking me for a young loud group. I am not the choice there. Tell me who is in the room and I will say so directly.

Asking me to speed up. Compressed into twenty minutes, exactly nothing of it survives.

Leaving the television on. It sounds trivial and it costs me half the effect.

Apologising for my age. A few times someone has explained in the message why they chose me specifically. No need — it is what I am selling, and it works.

What I ask before I confirm

Who is in the room and how old. The first question. I am excellent with an older audience and less good with a student crowd.

How much quiet to expect. Not silence, but people watching.

Whether there is an armchair or sofa. Half my show is built on being seated, and a hard floor with no furniture limits me.

Whether it is a surprise. If it is, I arrive in a suit and look like someone who came to a meeting, which works beautifully.

What happens between booking and the door

After we agree you get a short message: the hour, a request about lighting, and one about turning the television off. That is all I need.

On the day I message when I leave. I arrive in the suit, which is both the costume and the clothing that makes me look entirely ordinary in a hotel lobby.

Inside I ask for five minutes and the show starts from there. At the end I take the payment and go. I do not stay for the evening.

What is included and what is not

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

Not included: a speaker and lighting. And for a hotel booking, parking is yours, but I say that in the first message rather than afterwards.

When somebody else suits you better

If the room is young and loud, or if you wanted something acrobatic and physically impressive, not me. I would suggest Eva Wright for the strong line or Yonit Dror for high energy.

And if you wanted slow but younger, Shira Leon does a similar line in a different register.

Booking me

Name, hour, address, who is in the room. I always ask who is in the room, and with me it is the detail that matters most.

Standard price, no deposit. The whole gallery is here, and if you are undecided, describe the evening in two lines and I will tell you honestly whether I fit.