About the Company

Photo: Valerie Kosnevich

Cardinal Movement and Company creates original choreographic works based on our language, Cardinal Movement. Through movement, but also through music, dramaturgy, philosophy and history, we explore the different ways in which we exist in the world.

Cardinal Movement

Cardinal Movement is a movement language derived from anatomical principles and dance, focusing on three key elements: alignment, coordination and investigation. It explores the sequence of minute actions the body must undertake to perform a movement in a sustained manner, focusing on the "first movement", when a body moves from "resting" to "doing". The method can be applied to everyday activities (walking, lifting, bending) as well as to complex forms of movement (dance, martial arts, partnering, acrobatics), helping to develop more refined coordination, connectivity, and enhanced movement performance (posture, stability, flexibility and strength).

Applied to the company's work, Cardinal Movement enables us to create innovative and relevant choreographic pieces. More than a language, it's a specific way of connecting to the world, and the basis from which Cardinal Movement and Company communicates, teaches and creates.

Who We Are


  • Artistic Director and Choreographer

    Assaf Salhov is a choreographer, performer, and therapist working in New York City. He is the Artistic Director of Cardinal Movement and Company. He began his professional career as a dancer with Vertigo 2 Dance Company. He later moved to Europe and graduated with a degree in Choreography and Performance from SEAD Salzburg and continued his studies in choreography at SNDO Amsterdam. He returned to Israel to perform at Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv as an assistant to Director/Choreographer Yehezkel Lazarov.

    In 2015, Assaf moved to New York and joined the immersive show Sleep No More by Punchdrunk. At the McKittrick Hotel, he wrote, directed, and choreographed Cabaret evenings under the McKittrick Follies. As a Director/Choreographer, Assaf has created more than ten works which have been presented in Israel, Europe, and New York. In 2022, he choreographed for Grammy Award Winning Artist Silvana Estrada. Most recently, Assaf toured with Cardinal Movement and Company teaching workshops and performing in NYC, L.A.,Venice, Paris, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Normandy, Barcelona and Newcastle.


  • Managing Director and Performer

    Nikki Holck is a dance artist, educator, and director from Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the Managing Director at Peridance Center in New York City and the Director of Peridance’s Certificate Program. Nikki studied at Queen Emma Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Canada's National Ballet School, after which she began her dance career with the National Ballet of Canada. Upon moving to New York, she joined Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. Nikki has been a collaborator with Kaimera Productions (Paris/NYC), Superhero Clubhouse (NYC), and Company RAu (Istanbul). Nikki is currently working in collaboration with choreographer Assaf Salhov as Managing Director and dancer for Cardinal Movement and Company.

    *Photo: Kuo Heng-Huang