The Israel Ballet is a dance company that performs works of classical ballet and neoclassical ballet. The company often stages newly choreographed works, and in addition, it is the only professional ballet company within Israel that stages works of the classical international repertoire. The Israel Ballet regularly tours internationally.
The company resides in the new Israel Ballet center in Tel Aviv, equipped with the biggest rehearsal hall in Israel with 250 seats.
The Israel Ballet represented Israel in tours around the world and in important festivals in Europe, Asia and America.
History
Founders
Berta Yampolsky
Berta Yampolsky (born 1934) is a French-born Israelis, Israeli ballet dancer and founder of the Israel Ballet.
Early years
Berta Yampolsky was born in Paris. Her father, Naftali Yampolsky (1893–1980), was born in southern Russia. He was drafte ...
and
Hillel Markman gave the first performance of the Israel Ballet on January 25, 1967, with a group of four young dancers, in
Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
.
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 ...
granted permission to perform his work
Serenade
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
in 1975, and in 1981 he gave free performance rights to all of his works to the company.
The Classical Ballet Center
The Israel Ballet has its own facilities in Tel Aviv. These facilities include a formal school of ballet, called The Classical Ballet Center, that is the leading Israeli institute.
Repertoire
The Israel Ballet has many
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 ...
works in its current repertoire, thanks to his generosity in giving the company free performance rights. Balanchine works in the repertoire include
Symphony in C,
Square Dance
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
,
La Valse,
Concerto Barocco
''Concerto Barocco'' is a neoclassical ballet made for students at the School of American Ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently ballet master and co-founder of New York City Ballet, to Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two V ...
and
The Four Temperaments
''The Four Temperaments'' or Theme and Four Variations (''The Four Temperaments'') is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, the score was ultimately completed a ...
. Also in the repertoire are modern works by choreographers such as
Christian Spuck,
Rudi van Danzig,
Jan Lincolns,
Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch (born April 9, 1943) is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 cou ...
, and
Krzysztof Pastor
Krzysztof Pastor (born 17 December 1956 in Gdańsk, Poland) is a Polish dancer, choreographer and ballet director. He was resident choreographer with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam from 2003 to 2017, director of the Polish National Ballet ...
.
The company also has many original works in its repertoire by Artistic Director Berta Yampolsky. Besides her original works, Yampolsky has created new choreography for ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' and ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
''. The Israel Ballet has a number of full-length classical ballets in its repertoire, including ''
Onegin'', ''
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...
'', ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'', ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' and ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
''.
The Israel Ballet recently added a well-received new modern work to its repertoire, the "post-Forsyth"
Hikarizatto by
Itzik Galili
Itzik Galili (born 1961 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli choreographer.
Career
After having been a member of the Bat Sheva Dance Company and Bat Dor Dance Company in his country, he moved to the Netherlands in 1991, where he founded his own company. ...
.
See also
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Dance in Israel
Dance in Israel incorporates a wide variety of dance styles, from traditional Israeli folk dancing to ballet, modern dance, ballroom dancing and flamenco.
Contemporary dance in Israel has won international acclaim. Israeli choreographers, among t ...
*
Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that de ...
References
External links
The Israel Ballet
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Culture in Tel Aviv
Ballet companies in Israel
Israeli culture