b'NOA WERTHEIMNoa Wertheim, the Artistic Director andPHOTO CREDIT: MIRI YANAIChoreographer of the Vertigo Dance Company, was born in the U.S. in 1965 and grew up in Israel where she first studied dance in Netanya. After three years of military service in the developing town of Yeruhm, Noa completed her dance studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 1990. In 1992, together with Adi Shaal, she founded the Vertigo Dance Company which is based in Jerusalem and in the Vertigo Eco Art Village in the Ella Valley where she lives with Adi and their three sons.Under the artistic direction of Noa, an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the internationally acclaimed Vertigo Dance Company has begun its third decade with an impressive repertoire of original works choreographed by Noa, whose distinct dance language inspires dance students and artists by encouraging interpersonal communication and community involvement.Noa has been recognized for her original works, performances and contributions to the world of dance and Israeli culture with dozens of prestigious awards.Beyond her contribution to cultural life in Israel, Wertheims unique approach promotes social change by creating an artistic connection with the community and the environment, and this has been evident in the Vertigo Dance Education School, founded in Jerusalem in 1997; in the Vertigo Eco Art Village, founded in Kibbutz Netiv Halamed-Heh in 2007; and in The Power of Balance, a dance program for inclusion of the disabled.A MOSAIC OF ISRAEL|75 UNSUNG HEROS'