Baruch Agadati ( he, ברוך אגדתי, also Baruch Kaushansky-Agadati; January 8, 1895 – January 18, 1976) was a Russian Empire-born

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director.

Biography

Baruch Kaushansky (later Agadati) was born to a Jewish family in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

, and grew up in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. He immigrated to the

region of Palestine Palestine ( el, Παλαιστίνη, ; la, Palaestina; ar, فلسطين, , , ; he, פלשתינה, ) is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include Israel and the State of Palestine (i.e. West Bank and Gaza S ...

in the early 1900s. In Palestine, he was known for performing Jewish folk dances in an

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

style, often in solo performances he called "concerts" in which he would portray different

Shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

characters. His

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

stylings -- one performance featured him openly urinating on the back wall of the stage -- scandalized the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

Agadati attended the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...

in Jerusalem from 1910–14. When World War I started in 1914, he was in Russia visiting his parents and was unable to return to Palestine. He remained there and studied

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

, joining the dance troupe of the

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater , logo_caption = Logo , image = Operniy-5.jpg , image_size = 270px , caption = Odesa Theatre of Opera and Ballet , address = Tchaikovsky Lane 1 , city = Odesa , country = , designation = Architectural Landmark , coordinates = , archite ...

. In 1919, he returned to Palestine. In 1920, he moved to the

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. O ...

neighborhood in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Until his death is 1976, he worked in theatre, painted, danced and choreographed Israeli folkdance, produced the famous Purim "Ad DeLo Yada" Carnival balls. He is buried in

Trumpeldor Cemetery Trumpeldor Cemetery ( he, בית הקברות טרומפלדור), often referred to as the "Old Cemetery," is a historic cemetery on Trumpeldor Street in Tel Aviv, Israel. The cemetery covers 10.6 acres, and contains approximately 5,000 graves. ...

in Tel Aviv.

Dance and film career

Kaushansky returned to Russia during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and took the name Agadati. After Agadati's return to Palestine in 1919, he began to give solo dance recitals and became one of the pioneers of cinema in Israel. Agadati purchased cinematographer Yaakov Ben Dov's film archives in 1934, when Ben Dov retired from filmmaking. He and his brother Yitzhak used it to start the AGA Newsreel. He directed the early

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

film entitled ''This is the Land'' (1935), the first Hebrew speaking film, and a new version in 1963, called "Tomorrow's Yesterday.". In the 1920s and 1930s, he was known for organizing

Adloyada Adloyada (Hebrew: , lit. "Until one no longer knows") is a humorous procession held in Israel on the Jewish holiday of Purim (or in Shushan Purim the second day of Purim, commanded to be celebrated in "walled cities", nowadays only in Jerusal ...

Tel Aviv

Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...

balls. Agadati's costume for "Yihie" ("Yemenite Ecstasy"), a solo show that also toured Europe and South America, was designed by

Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. ...

. In 1924, Agadati choreographed a dance based on the Romanian Hora that became known as "Hora Agadati". It was performed by the Ohel Workers' Theatre, which toured pioneer settlements in the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...

.'Hora' History
/ref> The dancers form a circle, holding hands and move counterclockwise following a six-beat step in a walk-walk-step-kick-step-kick pattern.

Education

* 1910 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, with Boris Schatz * 1914-19 Dance and painting, Odessa * 1930 Painting, Florence

Teaching

* Odessa, classical ballet, painting and music

Awards and recognition

* 1976 Worthy Citizen of Tel Aviv Award, Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo

Gallery

Archival photographs of Baruch Agadati in costume, taken during the late 1920s.
Photographer: Atelier Willinger, Vienna
Collection of the Bat Sheva and Yitzhak Katz Archive,

Information Center for Israeli Art The Information Center for Israeli Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli art in Israel. Over 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. History As a research ...

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

, Jerusalem File:Agadati katz002-s.jpg, Baruch Agadati in the Dance "Yemenite Ecstasy" File:Agadati katz006-s.jpg, Baruch Agadati in the Dance "Jaffa" File:Agadati katz004-s.jpg, Baruch Agadati in the Dance "Melaveh Malka" File:Agadati katz011.jpg, Baruch Agadati as Hassid in the Dance "Melaveh Malka" File:Agadati katz013-s.jpg, Baruch Agadati as Rabbi Meir in the Dance "Melaveh Malka"

References

Sources

Judaica Reference Sources

Young Tel Aviv: A Tale of Two Cities - Google Books
* Exhibitions of Baruch Agadati: Painting on Silk. Selfridges Gallery, 1967

External links

* * *
Hora Agadati dance at Youtube

The Spielberg Jewish Film Archive - Agadati Screen of an Artist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agadati, Baruch 1895 births 1976 deaths People from Bender, Moldova People from Bendersky Uyezd Moldovan Jews Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Ashkenazi Jews in Ottoman Palestine Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Israeli film directors Israeli male dancers Israeli male painters Israeli male ballet dancers Israeli choreographers Israeli film producers Jewish artists Jewish painters History of Purim 20th-century Israeli painters Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery