Jewish dance
Encyclopedia
Jewish dance refers to dance
associated with Jews
and Judaism
. Dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. Dancing was a favorite pastime and played a role in religious observance.
Dances associated with Ashkenazi
and Sephardi
traditions, especially Jewish wedding
dances, are an integral part of Jewish life in America
and around the world. Folk dances associated with Zionism
and the formation of the State of Israel
became popular in the 1950s.
in Eastern Europe
, dancing to klezmer
music was an integral part of weddings in the shtetl
. Jewish dance was influenced by local non-Jewish dance traditions, but there were clear differences, mainly in hand and arm motions, with more intricate legwork by the younger men. The religious community frowned on mixed dancing, dictating separate circles for men and women.
In Hasidic Judaism
, dance is a tool for expressing joy and is believed to have a therapeutic effect: It purifies the soul, promotes spiritual elation and unifies the community.
developed in early days of Zionist settlement in Land of Israel
. It was an exuberant form of dance that reflected the joy of a people returning to its homeland.
. It is traditionally danced at Jewish wedding
s and other joyous occasions in the Jewish community.The hora was introduced in Israel by the Rumanian Jewish dancer Baruch Agadati
. In 1924, he worked together with a composer and songwriter to choreograph a show performed by the Ohel Theater Company, which toured the pioneer settlements of the Jezreel Valley
. "Hora Agadati," as the dance was known, became an instant success.
specializes in Yemenite dancing in Israel.
was "primarily a Jewish creation," according to Paul Johnson. In the United States, Jewish choreographers and dancers have been leading figures in the dance world, among them Jerome Robbins
, Anna Sokolow
, Michael Bennett
, Michael Kidd
, Ron Field
, Arthur Murray
, Helen Tamiris
and Pearl Lang
. Lincoln Kirstein
was one of the founders of the School of American Ballet
, The American Ballet and the New York City Ballet
.
, who immigrated to Mandate Palestine
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, Bat-Dor Dance Company
and Batsheva Dance Company
.
dancer, was honored by King Juan Carlos I of Spain
for training generations of flamenco dancers at her studio in Tel Aviv
, The citation was awarded for her "contribution to the culture of Spain and the Spanish people.
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
associated with Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. Dancing was a favorite pastime and played a role in religious observance.
Dances associated with Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
and Sephardi
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
traditions, especially Jewish wedding
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...
dances, are an integral part of Jewish life in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and around the world. Folk dances associated with Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and the formation of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
became popular in the 1950s.
Hasidic-style dance
Among Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, dancing to klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
music was an integral part of weddings in the shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
. Jewish dance was influenced by local non-Jewish dance traditions, but there were clear differences, mainly in hand and arm motions, with more intricate legwork by the younger men. The religious community frowned on mixed dancing, dictating separate circles for men and women.
In Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
, dance is a tool for expressing joy and is believed to have a therapeutic effect: It purifies the soul, promotes spiritual elation and unifies the community.
Israeli folk dancing
Israeli folk dancingIsraeli folk dancing
Israeli folk dancing is a form of dance usually performed to music from Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Most Israeli dances are performed in a circle, although there are also partner dances and line dances.-History and description:...
developed in early days of Zionist settlement in Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. It was an exuberant form of dance that reflected the joy of a people returning to its homeland.
Hora
The Hora is an Israeli circle dance typically danced to the music of Hava NagilaHava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.-History:...
. It is traditionally danced at Jewish wedding
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...
s and other joyous occasions in the Jewish community.The hora was introduced in Israel by the Rumanian Jewish dancer Baruch Agadati
Baruch Agadati
Baruch Agadati was a Russian-Israeli classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director. He is considered a legendary figure in Israeli culture.-Biography:...
. In 1924, he worked together with a composer and songwriter to choreograph a show performed by the Ohel Theater Company, which toured the pioneer settlements of the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. "Hora Agadati," as the dance was known, became an instant success.
Yemenite dancing
Yemenite dancing, based on the Yemenite step, is a form of dancing based on hopping in place. It is frequently incorporated in public dancing at Israeli weddings and celebrations. The Inbal Dance TheaterInbal Dance Theater
Inbal Dance Theater is a dance group operating in Israel. The subject matter and materials the group deals with derive from Jewish tradition and heritage, and from the folklore of the various ethnic groups in Israel – Jewish and non Jewish – such as the Yemenite, Moroccan, Persian and Kurdish...
specializes in Yemenite dancing in Israel.
Ballet
In Russia and France, the Ballets RussesBallets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
was "primarily a Jewish creation," according to Paul Johnson. In the United States, Jewish choreographers and dancers have been leading figures in the dance world, among them Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
, Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow was a Jewish American dancer and choreographer.-Training:...
, Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
, Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...
, Ron Field
Ron Field
Ronald Field was an American choreographer, director, and dancer.-Biography:Field was born in New York City, New York where he made his Broadway debut as a child in Lady in the Dark with Gertrude Lawrence...
, Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
, Helen Tamiris
Helen Tamiris
Helen Tamiris was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher.-Biography:A founder of American Modern Dance, Tamiris originally trained in free movement at the Henry Street Settlement. She danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the Bracale Opera Company before studying briefly...
and Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater....
. Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...
was one of the founders of the School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...
, The American Ballet and the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
.
Modern dance
One of the pioneers of modern dance in Israel was Gertrud KrausGertrud Kraus
-Biography:Gertrud Kraus was born in 1901 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Her father, Leopold Kraus, and her mother, Olga , married in Prague in 1899. They had four children: Robert , Gertrud , Margarethe and Victor ....
, who immigrated to Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
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, Bat-Dor Dance Company
Bat-Dor Dance Company
Bat-Dor was an Israeli dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, co-founded by Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild and dancer Jeannette Ordman.-Company:Bat Dor made its debut in 1968 with Ordman as its leading dancer. The company existed until July 2006....
and Batsheva Dance Company
Batsheva Dance Company
The Batsheva Dance Company is an internationally acclaimed dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild in 1964....
.
Flamenco
In 2010, Silvia Duran, an Israeli flamencoFlamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
dancer, was honored by King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
for training generations of flamenco dancers at her studio in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, The citation was awarded for her "contribution to the culture of Spain and the Spanish people.
See also
- Jewish musicJewish musicJewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
- Secular Jewish musicSecular Jewish music-Israeli music:Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. The Israeli music is very versatile and combines...
- Secular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the international culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews...
- Culture in Israel