Concert Dance in Israel
Israel is a society of Jewish immigrants who have returned to their ancient biblical homeland. It is also a complex society made up of people of varied cultures and ideologies, enduring changing economic and political situations. For the past eighty years, Israeli dancers have reflected and helped to shape the internal dialogues of Israeli life and contributed to a global exchange of dance ideas, especially with modern dancers from Europe and America.
Classical Ballet – Israeli Dance’s Stepson
Since artistic dance began in Israel, classical ballet has been at the margins of artistic activity and creation. There are several established dance companies in Israel, but only one of classical ballet – The Israel Ballet. Unlike modern dance, where fringe activities thrive, Israeli classical ballet has no fringe activities whatsoever. The Israeli Ballet is a good dance company, appearing in full halls despite the difficult conditions in which it works – one rehearsal hall and no accompanying school. There are some masterpieces by George Balanchine in the company’s repertoire, but most of its works are by Berta Yampolsky. Unlike Rami Be’er or Ohad Naharin, who are likewise the nearly sole creators in their companies, Yampolsky’s works are not appreciated internationally to the same extent. The main problem, however, is that the company did not succeed in raising a new generation of Israeli creators. The only Israeli creator in The Israel Ballet is the company’s Director, Berta Yampolsky.
Institutionalization and Centralization: Dance in Israel 1964-1977
The flourishing of Israeli dance in the last decade, among Israeli creators and performers, is not self-evident. Decades have passed until a combination of creativity and technical ability came to fruition. In this article I will focus on one chapter in the history of dance in Israel. The period in question, beginning in 1964 (the year Batsheva Dance Company was founded), was characterized on one hand by lack of belief in the creative abilities of Israeli choreographers, and on the other hand by an immense improvement in the dancers’ abilities and in the professionalism of performances.
Hips Swirl like a Mobile in Kibbutz Ein Hashofet
Today, after the giants in the Israeli dance world whom we worshipped in the 1960s and 1970s fell and others arose and also fell away, it seems that the artistic concept of the pageant is not obsolete, but is even ahead of its time. How are the holidays of ancient Israeli history celebrated in modern Israel? This question occupied the best of artistic and popular dance professionals in pre-State Israel of the 1930s and 1940s. Thus was born the pageant—a combination of Hebrew text declaimed and sung and of holiday dances performed under the open sky.
The Great Revolt and the Return to the Roots - The Influence of Ausdruckstanz on Movement Theater in Israel
From the 1920s to the mid-50s, the main dance style in Israel was Ausdruckstanz. In the 50s, after approximately fifteen years of cultural isolation – World War II, Israel’s War of Independence and the economic depression of the 1950s in Israel – foreign dance companies from USA and Europe started performing in Israel.
