Margalit Oved (born 1934) is an American-Israeli dancer and choreographer, who was born in the

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...

. After being airlifted to

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 ...

in 1949 in

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships ...

, she became involved with the

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 ...

for the following 15 years. She then moved the United States, where she taught at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Oved later returned to the Inbal Dance Theatre, and also worked with her son's Barak Marshall Theaterdance. She also founded her own group, the Margalit Dance Theatre Company in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Early life

Margalit Oved was born around 1934 in the

, as the seventh of nine children. Her father was a

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

merchant, and her mother was a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Although she is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Oved's mother chose to send her to the local

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

school as it provided the best education in the local area. While there she learnt to speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, which added to her native

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated 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 ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. She was evacuated to

in 1949 via airlift as part of

Career

After arriving in Israel, she founded Beit Tarbut Lenoar, which was a cultural heritage organisation directed at children. The following year, she began working with the

and

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 ...

. Oved would go on to spend 15 years with the Theatre, choreographing dances based on the traditions of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and other areas. Oved appeared in the first Israeli-produced film in 1955, entitled '' Hill 24 Doesn't Answer''. She rose to the position of principal dancer with the Inbal Dance Theatre, before leaving in 1965, and settling two years later in

, United States. There she met and married Melvin Marshall, and together had two sons. Oved began teaching at the

, while continuing to work on her own dances. In 1973, she created the dance ''Through the Gate of Aden'', based on her own life so far. She also founded the Margalit Dance Theatre Company in the city. The group toured Israel in 1982, and performed at the

Kennedy Centre The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in 1988. Oved returned to Israel again in 1994, where she returned to work with the Inbal Dance Threater once again, along with her son Barak. He has since become an international choreographer alongside his mother. Following two years with the company, she left once again to join her son's Barak Marshall Theaterdance on an international tour.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oved, Margalit Living people 1934 births Jewish American entertainers University of California, Los Angeles faculty Yemenite Jews Israeli emigrants to the United States American female dancers Dancers from California American women choreographers American choreographers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women