Batsheva Dance Company

Israeli dance company founded in 1964 and named after its sponsor, Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild, Martha Graham's wealthy benefactor. The foremost modern dance ensemble in Israel, it made its debut in Tel Aviv in 1964. From the beginning it took artistic advice from Martha Graham, and until 1970 it was directed by the ex-Graham dancer Jane Dudley. In the 1980s Robert Cohan, another Graham dancer, acted as artistic adviser. The repertoire featured works by Graham including Errand into the Maze, Embattled Garden, Cave of the Heart, and Diversion of Angels, plus The Dream, which Graham created for the company in 1974. In the mid-1970s, however, the special relationship between Batsheva and Graham was severed when Linda Hodes (who had been joint artistic director) became a director of Graham's company in New York. Works by Robbins and Limón were added to the repertoire. Foreign choreographers who made work for the company included Tetley, Morrice, Butler, and Cranko. Israeli choreographers who contributed to the repertoire included Rena Gluck, Moshe Efrati, Ehud Ben-David, and Rina Schenfeld. In 1973 Batsheva de Rothschild broke her ties with the company in order to devote her energies and financial support to Bat-Dor. Following her departure, the company received financial support from the Israeli Government. In the 1980s, under the joint directorship of Shelley Sheer and David Dvir, choreographers such as Mark Morris, Daniel Ezralow, and Ohad Naharin were invited to make work. In 1990 Naharin was appointed artistic director. He brought Kylián, Vandekeybus, Preljocaj, and Forsythe into the repertoire, while his own Anaphase (1993) has become one of the company's most popular works.