Dance Spreads Its Wings: Israeli Concert Dance 1920–2010

Ruth Eshel

Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2022

Dance Spreads Its Wings

Israeli Concert Dance 1920–2010

Ruth Eshel

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110749878

Overview
Contents

About this book

Why did dance and dancing became important to the construction of a new, modern, Jewish/Israeli cultural identity in the newly formed nation of Israel? There were questions that covered almost all spheres of daily life, including “What do we dance?” because Hebrew or Eretz-Israeli dance had to be created out of none. How and why did dance develop in such a way? Dance Spreads Its Wings is the first and only book that looks at the whole picture of concert dance in Israel studying the growth of Israeli concert dance for 90 years—starting from 1920, when there was no concert dance to speak of during the Yishuv (pre-Israel Jewish settlements) period, until 2010, when concert dance in Israel had grown to become one of the country’s most prominent, original, artistic fields and globally recognized. What drives the book is the impulse to create and the need to dance in the midst of constant political change. It is the story of artists trying to be true to their art while also responding to the political, social, religious, and ethnic complexities of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

Author / Editor information

Ruth Eshel has a rich background in dance performance and research. Having danced and choreographed many multidisciplinary solo recitals, she went on to establish the contemporary Ethiopian dance troupes Eskesta and Beta. She is also the editor of the periodical Mahol Akhshav (Dance Today)—The Dance Magazine of Israel. In 2021 she was named Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Reviews

"This book fills a critical gap both because no such comprehensive book on the topic has yet appeared and because Eshel’s work reveals the fascinations of an Israeli art genre, born only at the beginning of the twentieth century, that today has become a leading force in the dance worldwide. . . . As in her critical writing, Eshel’s writing in Dance Spreads Its Wings is marked by a rigorous search for words to express the movement language she is discussing in as fresh, tangible, and unmediated a manner as possible." – Einav Rosenblit, dance researcher and lecturer on dance and philosophy of the arts at the Tel Aviv University and Orot Israel Academic College of Education, Isreael.

"Dance Spreads Its Wings is a preliminary essay—comprehensive, clear, interesting and in-depth on the formation and especially on the development of the dance field, as an important component of culture in Israel. Ruth Eshel’s research encompasses historical and social backgrounds, dialogue with other arts, especially a fascinating story, from pioneering to blossoming." – Dan Oryan, Head of the Department of Theater Studies at the Western Galilee Academic College, Israel.

"In the dance literature in Israel, there are not many studies based on long and thorough work. This book by Ruth Eshel presents basic questions about ninety years of stage dance in Israel while trying to understand the historical reasons, the social motives and the artistic tools." – Naomi Bahat, Head of the School of the Arts at the Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts from 1978 to 2000, Tel Aviv, Israel.

"Whether you read this 500-page volume from start to finish or keep it on your shelf for reference, you are sure to get a sense of the global dance activity in Israel over the years." https://wendyperron.com/notable-dance-books-of-2021/ (23.12.2021)

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Section I: Concert Dance in the Jewish Community in Pre-State Israel (1920–1948)
Chapter 1 What Do We Dance? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2 The Various Ways of Making Hebrew Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
Chapter 3 Creation of Hebrew Holiday Pageants Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
Chapter 4 Eretz-Israeli Expressionist Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
Section II: Three Aspects of American and Israeli Encounters (1948–1964)
Chapter 5 Israeli Expressionist Dance Meets American Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Chapter 6 American Dance Meets Dance in Israel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
Chapter 7 The American and Yemenite Encounter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
Section III: Is Ballet Still Legitimate? (1948–1964)
Chapter 8 Sowing the Seeds of Ballet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
Chapter 9 The Israel Opera Ballet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
Section IV: Looking to Professionalize Dance: Looking to the Outside (1964–1980)
Chapter 10 Political and Social Changes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Chapter 11 The Batsheva Dance Company (First Era) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	132
Chapter 12 The Bat-Dor Dance Company (First Era) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Chapter 13 The Israel Ballet (First Era) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
Chapter 14 New Standards for Dance Teaching Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
Section V: Between the Periphery and the Center (1948–1980)
Chapter 15 Tel Aviv – Center of Cultural Activity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185
Chapter 16 Dance at the Edge of the Metropolis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
Chapter 17 To Dance in Holy Jerusalem and Socialist Haifa Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Chapter 18 Dance in the Kibbutz: The Struggle over the Necessity of Concert Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
Chapter 19 The Inter-Kibbutz Dance Company: How to Express Our Uniqueness Onstage? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
Section VI: The Breakthrough of Alternative Dance and Movement-Theater (1977–1990)
Chapter 20 Alternative Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Chapter 21 Batsheva 2: A Backup Company or New Dance? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Chapter 22 Individualists and New Ensembles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
Chapter 23 Movement-Theater in Israel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	282
Chapter 24 How Do You Meet and How Do You Part? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	286
Section VII: Sowing Seeds – Setting Up Stages (1984–2000)
Chapter 25 Stages for Creativity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301
Chapter 26 The Spanish Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	309
Chapter 27 The Butoh Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	316
Chapter 28 The Arab Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	324
Chapter 29 The Ethiopian Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	333
Chapter 30 Immigrants from the USSR Encounter Israeli Dance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	340
Chapter 31 Broadening Horizons in Dance Education Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
Section VIII: Veteran Companies in a Changing World (1980–2000)
Chapter 32 The Curtain’s Still Up: Batsheva, the Israel Ballet, and Inbal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	357
Chapter 33 The Curtain Comes Down: Kol Demama, Tamar Jerusalem, Bat-Dor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	379
Section IX: About to Bloom (1990–2000)
Chapter 34 It All Comes Together – Renaissance of Creative Impulse Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	399
Chapter 35 The New Voice of the Kibbutz and Batsheva Dance Companies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	410
Section X: The Time and Place in Which We Live (1990–2010)
Chapter 36 To Speak of Me I Knew Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	433
Chapter 37 Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation: Movement Speaking Its Own Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	460
Chapter 38 The Religious and the Secular – The Dynamic Between Them Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	474
Chapter 39 Taking a Political Stance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	482
Chapter 40 To Regions Only Imagined Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	491
Summary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	501
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	505
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	515

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Original publisher: Self-published, Tel Aviv
Audience: Scholars and students of Jewish studies, Israel studies, Dance Studies, Art studies, and Middle East Studies
Pages
- Front matter: 13
- Main content: 531
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 151
Keywords: Jewish culture; Israeli dance; Jewish history; Jewish identity

eBook

Published: October 25, 2021
ISBN: 9783110749878

Hardcover

Published: November 22, 2021
ISBN: 9783110749618