Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Afternoon of a Faun

Dance in Israel incorporates a wide variety of dance styles, from traditional

Israeli folk dancing Israeli folk dance ( he, ריקודי עם, ''rikudei 'am'', lit. "Folk dances") is a form of dance usually performed to songs in Hebrew, or to other songs which have been popular in Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Israeli ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

ballroom dancing Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

and

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

. Contemporary dance in Israel has won international acclaim. Israeli choreographers, among them

Ohad Naharin Ohad () was the third son of Simeon; he is mentioned in Genesis 46:10. Ohad may also refer to: __NOTOC__ People Surname * Daniella Ohad, American design historian Given name * Ohad Benchetrit, Canadian musician * Ohad Cohen, goalkeeper for Hapoel ...

and

Barak Marshall Barak Marshall is an American-born Israeli choreographer and singer. Biography Barak Marshall was born in the United States. In 1994, after studying social theory and philosophy at Harvard University, he immigrated to Israel, where he began a suc ...

are considered among the most versatile and original international creators working today. People come from all over Israel and many other nations for the annual dance festival in

Karmiel Karmiel ( he, כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, ...

, held in July. First held in 1987, the Karmiel Dance Festival is the largest celebration of dance in Israel, featuring three or four days and nights of dancing with 5,000 or more dancers and a quarter of a million spectators in the capital of the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

. Begun as an Israeli folk dance event, the festivities now include performances, workshops, and open dance sessions for a variety of dance forms and nationalities. Choreographer Yonatan Karmon created the Karmiel Dance Festival to continue the tradition of Gurit Kadman's Dalia Festival of Israeli dance, which ended in the 1960s. Famous companies and choreographers from all over the world have come to Israel to perform and give

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es. In July 2010,

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

came to perform in Israel.

Folk dancing

Israeli folk dancing includes folk dances such as the

Horah Hora, also known as horo and oro, is a type of circle dance originating in Jewish communities and the Balkans but also found in other countries. Etymology The name, spelled differently in various countries, is derived from the Greek ('' khor� ...

and dances that incorporate the Tza’ad Temani. Israeli folk dance also includes

Dabke ''Dabke'' ( ar, دبكة also spelled ''dabka'', ''dubki'', ''dabkeh'', plural ''dabkaat'') is a Levantine Arab folk dance. Dabke combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. The line f ...

which is a Middle Eastern dance of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

region (Israel, Lebanon, Syria) and is a common dance done by mainly the Arab population of Israel however is a most popular dance among Israeli youth. In

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Dabke is known as דבקה "Dabka" which comes from the Arabic term meaning "stomping of feet". The Dance is well suited for bringing Israel-Arab culture together.

Contemporary dance

One of the pioneers of modern dance in Israel was

Gertrud Kraus Gertrud Kraus ( he, גרטרוד קראוס; 5 May 1901 – 13 November 1977) was an Israeli pioneer of modern dance in Israel. Biography Gertrud Kraus was born in 1901 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Her father, Leopold Kraus, and her mother, Olga ...

, who immigrated to

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

in 1935 and formed a modern dance company affiliated with the Tel Aviv Folk Opera. In 1950–1951, she founded the Israel Ballet Theatre, and became its artistic director. Contemporary dance in Israel is influenced by Israeli folk dance and European traditions. Dance companies include the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company,

Inbal Dance Theater Inbal Dance Theater ( he, תאטרון מחול ענבל, ''Teatron Makhol Inbal'') is Israel's first and oldest modern dance company, started in 1949. History The company was founded in 1949 by Israel Prize recipient Sara Levi-Tanai. Under the ...

Vertigo Dance Company Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, Bat-Dor Dance Company and Batsheva Dance Company.

Flamenco

In 2010, Silvia Duran, an Israeli

dancer, was honored by King

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

for training generations of flamenco dancers at her studio 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 ...

, The citation was awarded for her "contribution to the culture of Spain and the Spanish people.

Dance festivals

The

Karmiel Dance Festival Karmiel Dance Festival is an annual dance festival in Israel. History The Karmiel Dance Festival was inaugurated in 1987. It is held for 3 days and nights in July, and includes dance performances, workshops, and open dance sessions. The festival ...

has been a yearly event since 1987. The festival is usually held for 3 days and nights in July, and includes dance performances, workshops, and open dance sessions. The festival began as a celebration of Israeli folk dance, but today it features many different dance troupes, attracting thousands of dancers and hundreds of thousands of spectators from Israel and overseas. During the festival there are two major competitions: the Eyal ben Yehoshua choreography competition and a folk dance competition in memory of dancer Asheri Hever.

Dance companies

The Batsheva Dance Company is an internationally acclaimed dance company based in

. It was founded by

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

and Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild in 1964. From its inception until 1979, the prima ballerina of Batsheva was

Rina Schenfeld Rina Schenfeld ( he, רנה שיינפלד) (born 1938) is an Israeli choreographer and dancer. As prima ballerina and choreographer of the Batsheva dance company, she was described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most important artists ...

; she and Rena Gluck were the company's principal dancers for many years.

has been artistic director since 1990. The Bat-Dor Dance Company was an Israeli dance company co-founded by Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild and dancer Jeannette Ordman. Bat Dor made its debut in 1968 with Ordman as its leading dancer. The company existed until July 2006. The

focuses on the dance of ethnic communities in Israel, among them

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...

Moroccan Jews Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...

Iranian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

and

Kurdish Jews , image = File:RABBI MOSHE GABAIL.jpg , caption = Rabbi Moshe Gabai, head of the Jewish community of Zakho, with Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in 1951 , pop = 200,000–300,000 , region1 = , pop1 ...

. The group is known for incorporating biblical themes and an ancient dance language into modern dance moves. The group was founded in 1949 by

Sara Levi-Tanai Sara Levi-Tanai ( he, שרה לוי-תנאי; c. 1910 – 3 October 2005) was an Israeli choreographer and song writer. She was the founder and artistic director of the Inbal Dance Theater and recipient of the Israel Prize in dance. Prizes and ...

, Jerusalem-born of a Yemenite family. The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, based in Kibbutz Ga'aton, participates in some 200 performances a year in Israel and overseas. The Rina Schoenfeld Dance Theater, founded in 1978, developed an eclectic blend of

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

ideology, theater, modern dance and ballet which used physical objects to "guide the imagination to places beyond dance.""Rina Schenfeld" i
''Dance Life''
, 2011 The Israel Ballet, which performs classical and neo-classical ballets, was founded in 1967 by Berta Yampolsky and Hillel Markman. In 1975, the troupe performed

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

's Serenade, bringing the company international acclaim. After watching a performance in New York, Balanchine granted the Israel Ballet permission to perform his works free of charge. The Adama Dance Company, established by Liat Dror and Nir Ben Gal, is based in

Mitzpe Ramon Mitzpe Ramon ( he, מִצְפֵּה רָמוֹן, Ramon Lookout; ar, متسبي رمون) is a local council in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 860 meters (2,800 feet) overl ...

. The company has seven dancers and runs a children's dance school.The crater good
,

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

Dance centers

Tel Aviv's center for modern and classical dance is the

Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre ( he, מרכז סוזן דלל למחול ולתיאטרון) is a centre for dance in Israel, located in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv. Goals and significance The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and 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 ...

Dance notation

The Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation is a notation system for recording movement on paper or computer screen created in Israel by dance theorist Noa Eshkol and Avraham Wachman, a professor of architecture at the Technion. The system is used in many fields, including

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, physical therapy, animal behavior and early diagnosis of

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

Gallery

File:PikiWiki Israel 3011 Jewish holidays חג ביכורים גן-שמואל 2009.JPG,

on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot at Kibbutz Gan-Shmuel File:Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company.JPG, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company performing in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

File:Karmiel Dance Festival (9).JPG, Karmiel Dance Festival, 2011 File:Inbal Pinto on stage.jpg, Israeli choreographer and dancer Inbal Pinto

References

External links

Efron Dance Center, Jerusalem
{{Asia topic, Dance in Israeli culture