Emmaly Wiederholt is a professional dancer and dance writer. She trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and performed extensively for Malinda LaVelle's Project Thrust. She also started Stance On Dance, an online dance blog with essays, interviews, art, funny tidbits and more. Emmaly is a weekly columnist for Neon Tommy, reviewing dance classes she tries out in Los Angeles.

When people hear the word "gaga," they usually think of Lady Gaga. But there's a new kind of gaga in town--one sans all the blood, face paint, and eccentric costumes.

In Tel Aviv, Israel, there’s this dance company called Batsheva, and it is directed by internationally acclaimed choreographer Ohad Naharin. Naharin, current king of the contemporary dance world, sustained a serious back injury in the 1990s. During his healing process, he came up with what is today known as Gaga. What is it exactly?

Let me paint a picture. All the mirrors and clocks are covered, and everyone is asked not to leave the studio for the hour-long class, not even for the restroom. The last edict is to keep moving at all times, whilst the teacher gives sensorial directions along the lines of, “Float. Pull your bones. Smear your flesh. Find the rope in your arms and the snake in yo

Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Theresa. Photo by Nina Aldin Thune.

The class proceeds, and everyone kind of looks like Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Theresa the whole time (See right).

What’s so alluring about Gaga is that it breaks from the usual approach to dance. (“Put your foot here and your arm there and then bend this way.”)

There are no directives of that sort. Yes, you follow along with the teacher, but there’s no right or wrong way to move in Gaga. You’re only doing it wrong if you’re not using your imagination.

Gaga is catching like wildfire. Five years ago, almost no one had heard of Gaga outside of Israel. Now there are more choreographers and dancers imitating Gaga than there are Lady Gaga impersonators (disclaimer: I cannot prove that).

Seriously, though, in Tel Aviv, Gaga classes are offered around-the-clock for dancers and non-dancers alike, and Israelis flock to them.

Here in the United States, if you’re fortunate enough to live in New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, you, too, can join in the Gaga phenomenon and dance with your mouth hanging open in an, um, interesting manner.

Lady Gaga may be a big star with lots of albums and twitter followers, but Bernini’s -- er, Naharin's, brand of Gaga asks people to relish in what feels good and to use those feelings as a guide for how to dance. I’d say it’s well worth going gaga over.

Danielle Agami of Ate9 Dance offers Gaga for Dancers on Tuesdays and Thursday at 10 am and Gaga for People (aka non-dancers) Sundays at 7 pm at Arabesque Dance Studio (6085 W. Pico). Classes are $15 each.

Columnist Emmaly Wiederholt here or follow her on Twitter here.