Anna Sokolow

This essay offers a historical framework for examining Anna Sokolow's contribution to the development of theatrical dance in Israel from the middle of the 1950s to the end of the 1980s. The sociopolitical and artistic conditions in Israel at the time of Sokolow's first encounter with its dance scene serve as a backdrop for investigating the contribution of her Lyric Theatre (1962–64) and examining why, despite the company's short life, Sokolow is still heralded as a profound influence on contemporary dance in Israel. The essay will further investigate how Sokolow wove her aesthetic into the dance scene through her work with Inbal Dance Theatre, her staging of works from her repertory along with new dances for companies like Batsheva Dance Company, and the effects of her technique and composition classes on generations of dancers. Notes 1. See, for example, Larry Warren, Sokolow's biographer, who dedicated two chapters to her activity in Israel in Anna Sokolow: The Rebellious Spirit (Princeton, N. J.: Dance Horizons, 1991). One chapter focused on her work with Inbal and the other on the Lyric Theatre. In A Story of a Company: Sara Levi-Tanai and Inbal Dance-Theatre (Tel Aviv: Resling, 2005) [Hebrew], Gila Toledano, one of the founders of Inbal and Sara Levi-Tanai's right-hand assistant for twenty-six years, refers to Sokolow's effect on the work of Inbal. 2. Tom Segev, Palestine under the British (Jerusalem: Keter, 1999) [Hebrew], 11–12. 3. Zohar Shavit, "Introduction," in The History of the Jewish Community in Eretz Yisrael since 1882, pt. 1 (Jerusalem: Bialik Institute and the Israel Academy for Sciences and Humanities, 1998) [Hebrew], 1–7. 4. Giora Manor, "The Development of Dance in the Jewish Settlement," in The History of the Jewish Community in Eretz Yisrael since 1882, pt. 1, 557–72. 5. In Judith Brin Ingber, "Shalom: Hello and Goodbye to Israeli Modern Dance after the American Invasion?, Proceedings of the Conference of the Society of Dance History Scholars," American Dance Abroad: Influence of the United States Experience Around the World (Riverside, California, 1992), 247. 6. Manor, "The Development of Dance in the Jewish Settlement," 572. 7. See Ruth Eshel, "Concert Dance in Israel (1920–2008)," in Dance Discourse in Israel, ed. Henia Rottenberg and Dina Roginsky (Tel Aviv: Resling, 2009) [Hebrew], 73. 8. See Anna Sokolow, Choreographer, prod. and dir. Margaret Murphy and Lucille Rhodes, 20 min., Dance Horizons, 1980, VHS. 9. Hannah Kosstrin, Honest Bodies: Jewishness, Radicalism, and Modernism in Anna Sokolow's Choreography from 1927–1961 (Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 2011), 10. 10. See Ellen Graff, Stepping Left: Dance and Politics in New York City, 1928–1942 (Durham, N. C.: Duke University Press, 1997). 11. Warren, Anna Sokolow, 128. 12. Natan Mishori, "Anna Sokolow, The Lyric Theater and Israel," Israel Dance (1980): 40. 13. See Eshel on this issue in "Concert Dance in Israel," 70. 14. For further reading on Levi-Tanai and her "Mizrahi art" see Dina Roginsky, "Orientalism, the Body, and Cultural Politics in Israel: Sara Levi-Tanai and the Inbal Dance Theater," Nashim, vol. 11 (2006): 164–97. 15. Toledano, Story of a Company, 69–72. 16. Jerome Robbins, letter dated November 11, 1969, following a crisis in Inbal. Box 111.4.1.6, Archives of the Dance Library of Israel (hereafter DLI), Beit Ariela. The emphasis appears in the original Hebrew. 17. See Brin Ingber, "Shalom," and Eshel, "Concert Dance in Israel." 18. Giora Manor, Sara's Way: Sara Levi-Tanai and Her Choreography (Tel Aviv: Inbal Dance Theatre, The Ethnic Multicultural Center Inbal, 2002) [Hebrew], 45. 19. Toledano, Story of a Company, 85. 20. Manor, Sara's Way, 45. 21. Toledano, Story of a Company, 88. 22. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 37. 23. Newspaper clippings, box 111.4.1.3, DLI. Page numbers are often missing on newspaper clippings from which information has been drawn. 24. Memorandum of Inbal Dance Theatre, June 5, 1959, box 111.4.1.6, DLI [Hebrew]. 25. Ibid. 26. Levi-Tanai in memorandum "About Inbal's Way" (June 1984), in box 111.4.1.6, DLI. The emphasis appears in the original Hebrew. 27. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 39. 28. Ze'eva Cohen, letter to the author, April 26, 2012. 29. Ze'eva Cohen, interview with the author, December 19, 2011. 30. Y. Yahel, "Anna Sokolow—The Small Woman Creating Great Dances," Olam Ha'isha (Woman's World), July 27, 1957 [Hebrew]. 31. Eshel, "Concert Dance in Israel (1920–2008)," 72. 32. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 40. 33. Michael Ohad, Dvar Hashavua, box 111.17.2.4, DLI, (no date) [Hebrew]. 34. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 40. 35. Cohen, interview, December 19, 2011. 36. Asher Nahor, "The Lyric Theatre of Anna Sokolow, Program A: The Match Was Unsuccessful," Yedioth Ahronoth, July 8, 1962 [Hebrew]. 37. A. Ben-Meir, "Anna Sokolow's Lyric Theatre, Program A: Drama, Dance and Music," Herut, box 221.1.2.6.1, DLI (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 38. Yehudit Ornstein, "Anna Sokolow's Lyric Theatre," Haaretz, box 111.17.2.7, DLI (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 39. Nahman Ben-Ami, "Integrated Arts: The Performance of the Lyric Theatre of Anna Sokolow," Ma'ariv, July 8, 1962 [Hebrew]. 40. Ben-Meir, "Anna Sokolow's Lyric Theatre." 41. Ben-Ami, "Integrated Arts: The Performance of the Lyric Theatre." 42. Ornstein, "Anna Sokolow's Lyric Theatre." 43. Ruth Eshel, Dancing with the Dream: The Development of Artistic Dance in Israel 1920–1964 (Tel Aviv: Sifriat Poalim and Dance Library of Israel, 1991) [Hebrew], 110. 44. Asher Nahor, "Anna Sokolow's Lyric Theatre—Program B," Yedioth Ahronoth, October 14, 1962 [Hebrew]. 45. Ilan Reichel, "About Dreams—Program B of A. Sokolow's Company," Lamerhav, box 111.17.2.4, DLI (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 46. Oded Tiram, "Program B at the Lyric Theatre," box 111.17.2.4, DLI (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 47. Elyakim Yaron, "The Lyric Theatre in its Third Program," box 111.17.2.4, DLI (no newspaper name or accurate date) [Hebrew]. 48. Yaron, "The Lyric Theatre in its Third Program." 49. Yehudit Ornstein, "The Third Program at the Lyric Theatre," box 111.17.2.4, DLI (no newspaper name or accurate date) [Hebrew]. 50. A. Ben-Meir, "The Lyric Theatre in Its Third Program," Herut, box 111.17.2.4, DLI (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 51. Rena Gluck, Batsheva Dance Company 1964­–1980, My Story (Jerusalem: Carmel, 2006) [Hebrew], 39–41. 52. Gluck, Batsheva Dance Company, 41–43; Giora Manor, "Batsheva the Flagship of Modern Dance in Israel," Israel Dance (4 October 1994): 111–16. 53. Mishori, quoting an interview with the artists from 1978, in "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 41. 54. Cohen, interview, December 19, 2011. 55. Yitzhak Avrahami, "When Inspectors Lurk About, 'King Solomon and Shalmai the Cobbler' at the Cameri Theatre," Ma'ariv, box 221.1.2.6, DLI, (no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 56. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 42. 57. Company memorandum in box 111.4.2.1, DLI [Hebrew]. 58. Giora Manor comments on Song of Songs in his review of Rooms in "Dance of the Lonely Chairs," newspaper clipping, box no. 221.1.2.6.8, DLI (no newspaper name and accurate date) [Hebrew]. 59. Gluck, Batsheva Dance Company, 133. 60. Discussed in Judith Brin Ingber, Victory Dances: The Life of Fred Berk (Tel Aviv: Dance Library of Israel, 1985), 12. 61. "Quick Judgment [Shiput Mahir]—Dance," Israel Festival 1976, newspaper clipping in box 111.6.2.2, DLI (no newspaper or critic's name and no accurate date) [Hebrew]. 62. Gluck, Batsheva Dance Company, 178. 63. Giora Manor, "Dance of the Lonely Chairs," newspaper clipping in box 221.1.2.6.8, DLI (no newspaper name or accurate date) [Hebrew]. 64. Dora Sowden, "Premieres by Batsheva," Ma'ariv, December 17, 1978 [Hebrew]. 65. Ron Ben-Israel, "Anna Sokolow Rehearses 'Wings'—A Work-Log," Israel Dance (1980) [Hebrew]: 22–26. 66. Quoted in Gluck, Batsheva Dance Company, 171. 67. Cohen, interview, December 19, 2011. 68. Michael Ohad, "Anna Does Not Want Success," Ha'aretz, 18.9.64, box 111.17.2.4, DLI [Hebrew]. 69. Mishori, "The Lyric Theater and Israel," 41. 70. Giora Manor, "Batsheva: The Flagship of Modern Dance in Israel," Israel Dance, vol. 4 (October 1994): 111. 71. Warren, Anna Sokolow, 187. See also Sokolow, "The Rebel and the Bourgeois," 36. 72. Naomi Isaacson, "Anna Sokolow in Israel: The Cosmopolitan Comes Home," Times of Israel, New York, May 6, 1974, box 221.1.2.6.8, DLI

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