Tel Aviv is a vibrant city, home to many of the country’s major dance companies, festivals and venues. Among these are the Suzanne Dellal Center, located in the center of the historic Neve Tzedek neighborhood in Tel Aviv and The Israel Opera located in downtown Tel Aviv. A more intimate setting for smaller dance ensembles is the Tmuna Theatre. Dance companies in permanent residence in Tel Aviv include the Batsheva Dance Company, the Israel Ballet the Inbal Pinto and Avshallom Pollak Dance Company and the Inbal Ethnic Dance Center.
The Israel Ballet
The Israel Ballet is the only company in Israel performing the great classical and neo-classical ballets of the international repertoire. The company was founded in 1967 by Berta Yampolsky and Hillel Markman who have continued to be its Artistic Directors until the present day.
The Israel Ballet has a rich and varied repertoire ranging from the great classical and modern full length ballets like “The Nutcracker”, “The Sleeping Beauty”, “Cinderella”, “Onegin”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Don Quixote” and “Giselle” to works by choreographers such as Christian Spuck, Krzysztof Pastor, Rudi van Danzig, Jan Lincolns and Lar Lubovitch.
The greatest pride of The Israel Ballet lies in the original works made for the company by its founder and Artistic Director. Until today Berta Yampolsky has created more than 30 ballets for the company including new productions of the classical ballets “The Nutcracker” and “The Sleeping Beauty”. As well as her classical productions there are the many fresh choreographic creations that she has generated and with which she has won great critical acclaim. To name just a few – “Untitled”, “Ecstasy”, “Two by Two and Everyone”, Written in the Sand”, “Gurrelieder”, “Optimus” and “Harmonium”.
Today, The Israel Ballet is a company of dancers from all over the world, among them native Israelis, new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and guests who have been selected by audition.
Information on the performance schedule for the Israel Ballet can be found at the ballets website: www.iballet.co.il. For information about tickets call 03-6046610. Note: the ballet also performs around the country so they could even be performing on your doorstep.
