HAARETZ | 9

GALLERY

By Roni Dori

In 1951, the American cho-reographer Jerome Rob-bins visited Israel on be-

half of the Norman Fund (now known as the America-Israel Culture Foundation ). Robbins was sent here to check on the state of dance in Israel and to ascertain whether there was a dance troupe that would be suitable to tour the United States.

During his visit, Robbins met with the Orenstein sis-ters, Maya Arbatova, Tehila Ressler, Gertrude Kraus and Gurit Kadman, who invited him to her Dalia Festival of Israeli Dance, which includ-ed the Inbal Dance Theater, founded two years earlier by Sara Levi-Tanai.

“I remember well the first meeting between Jerome Robbins and Sara and the troupe,” wrote Gila Toleda-no,” Levi-Tanai’s right-hand woman for 26 years, in her book, “Sipura Shel Lehaka” (Story of a Company ), which was published in 2005 by Re-sling. She recalled sitting on the side and watching a re-hearsal. “On a little hill next to us I saw a young man try-ing to copy the troupe’s steps. At a certain point, he came up to me and asked in English if I was part of the group, and I said yes. He then asked who created the dance steps? I pointed to Sara and said ‘the little woman in the middle.’ ‘And who did this chore-ography?’ I said: ‘She did.’ ‘And whose music is it?’ I an-swered: ‘Hers.’ The man held his head and cried, ‘She’s a ge-nius!’ And to that I answered innocently ‘perhaps.’”

What happened next is de-claimed by Inbal’s founders and associates by heart: Rob-bins warmly recommended Inbal in the report he present-ed to the fund’s management when he left Israel: “Inbal is the most important thing we have in the dance world in Israel, and it is incumbent on the fund to take it under its wing, support it and help it develop and prepare it for a performance tour abroad. This is now the most impor-

tant task of the fund that jus-tifies its existence”.

Robbins became an en-thusiastic advocate for the troupe and for Levi-Tanai. In-bal’s first tour abroad, in late 1957, was a dazzling success, including rave reviews in the New York Times.

The troupe started out in 1949, when Sara Levi-Tanai, a native-born kindergarten teacher of Yemenite descent, decided to explore her cul-tural roots. She gathered together a group of young people, most of them new immigrants from Yemen, and starting working with them several nights a week. The youngsters, who lacked any professional training in dance, brought with them steps they knew from home.

At a certain point, Levi-Ta-nai managed to get the danc-ers together for three months of work. Those three months, during which the ensemble changed its name from Sara Levi’s Eastern Troupe to In-bal, stretched to 60 years. This September, the troupe will celebrate its 60th anni-versary. The youthful ama-teurs, Margalit Oved, Racheli Ovadia, Rachel Tzai’ri, Chana Minezli, Yehuda Cohen, Yaa-kov Barzilai and Meir Ovadia, turned into professional danc-ers and cultural heroes.

Not everyone welcomed the Inbal troupe with open arms. The melting pot needed to forge Israeli society was the troupe’s first Achilles’ heel. Many people did not look kindly on Levi-Tanai’s cling-ing to her roots, all the more so because she was a sabra. Some accused her of “Arabi-zation,” a serious charge in those days.

Another problem, which has persisted since the troupe’s early days, is that many still mistakenly see In-bal as a folklore troupe, i.e., a traditional folk dance troupe, while it is an artistic company whose unique style is a result of the merging various Medi-terranean traditions.

To maintain the troupe, which many times faced clo-sure for financial reasons, Levi-Tanai had to agree to nu-

merous foreign tours, which did indeed bring in the money but also made it harder for it to work on new choreogra-phy and establish the troupe among the Israeli audience. Furthermore, Toledano notes in her book, the creative forc-es did not bubble over within Levi-Tanai as they had when

she created her signature pieces, “A Wedding in Yemen” (1956 ), “The Song of Deborah” (1953 ), “The Queen of Sheba” (1952 ), and “Women” (1959 ).

Inbal’s troubles worsened in 1964, when Batsheva and the Israel Ballet were cre-ated. Their diverse repertoire further emphasized Inbal’s Middle Eastern character. In the late 1960s, there were frequent changes in directors from Gila Toledano to Haim Shiran, who served for less than two years. Few lasted more than a year in the post, primarily due to friction with Levi-Tanai, who refused to give up the post of artistic di-rector and did not allow a new generation of choreographers to sprout from within.

New directionsIn 1991, the newspaper

Davar published the follow-ing advertisement: “Inbal is looking for a new artistic di-rector to replace Sara Levi-

Tanai, who completed her job yesterday and was appointed president of the theater.” This happened against her will. “The job requirements: a background in ethnic dance.” This is how Levi-Tanai learned of her dismissal.

Her break with the com-pany she worked so hard to establish grew until her death in 2005. She was survived by a daughter, Michal Degani, and by a son, Yaakov Tanai.

Over the years, there were attempts to perform works by Inbal veterans alongside works from Levi-Tanai’s rep-ertoire, and in 1995, Margalit Oved, Inbal’s big star in its early years, was appointed its artistic director but that last-ed just one year, and leader-ship changes continued until the appointment of Dr. Razi Amitai, a former artistic di-rector of the Holon Meditech, as director general and artis-tic director.

How do you celebrate the 60th anniversary of a dance

troupe? A gala fund-raiser is scheduled for September in Tel Aviv at the Dan Panorama Hotel in the presence of the minister of culture, and the company will perform and announce the formation of a fund named after Sara Levi-Tanai to support choreogra-phers who create ethnic-style dance. “It’s part of the busi-ness of flourishing anew,” explains Amitai. “The mere fact they will mention Sara’s name, that it will be associat-ed with a new work, and also the very public nature of the whole matter is of very great importance.”

In addition, Seminar Hakib-butzim Teachers College has been working for the last year on a broad project in the con-text of Inbal at the initiative of Gila Toledano. The objectives of the project, says Dr. Henya Rothenberg, are pedagogic, research-related and artistic. “This project looks at Sara Levi-Tanai’s artistic language as something that is wholly unique,” she says. “On the basis of this respect, we are doing this project. We are be-coming aware of Levi-Tanai’s works not out of nostalgia, but out of recognition.”

What would Levi-Tanai have thought of the troupe’s evolution in recent years?

“Very bad,” says Toledano and immediately refines her comment: “Actually, I can’t say because in her last years she did not remember much any more; you can’t ask a 95-

year-old women about her life’s work.”

Barak Marshall, who ap-plied for the post of Inbal’s artistic director and lost out to Amitai, believes Inbal’s future lies in its transforma-tion into a repertory troupe. “I know the problematic na-ture of Inbal,” he says in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, “but this is one of the few Israeli troupes that is open to working with young choreographers, and I really like what Razi is trying to do. He is so full of inspiration and open to experimenting with artistic direction.”

The company’s downfall largely reflects a stigma, he said, that it was not affiliated with Western culture in Is-rael, adding: “I believe it cer-tainly can rise, if they let Razi have the space to do what he is trying to do. My work, ‘Monger,’ is an ethnic work, and is very successful in Is-rael and abroad.”

Amitai is working on his plans for the coming year, but so far without a dance per-formance on the horizon. He says he would be happy to see “Monger” performed as an audience draw.

The woman who was InbalSixty years ago, a young Israeli

exploring her roots founded a dance company that mesmerized audiences

abroad but faced troubles at home

MK calls for new law after Sapir Prize mess

MK Nachman Shai (Kadima ) yesterday called for an ur-gent discussion in the Knesset Education and Culture Com-mittee on the Sapir Prize. In a letter to the Knesset speaker, Shai noted that the more time between the awarding and cancellation of the prize, the greater the concern about se-rious flaws in the way it is awarded. “Since this prize uses funds from Mifal Hapayis [the national lottery], which are public funds in every respect,” he said, “it is only fitting that the Knesset Education and Culture Committee be given a full and transparent picture of all the steps leading up to the awarding and cancellation of the prize this year and in past years.” A law on prizes, he said, should be enacted as soon as possible to formalize how public prizes are awarded in Israel. The flaws that happened in the awarding of the Sapir Prize, he said, prove it is necessary to strive to formalize this area, which “includes prizes worth millions of shekels.” He added that “every prize awarded from public funds or by a public entity must be included in the prize law.” (Maya Sela )

Labor Court halts IBA sanctions for 1 week

The sanctions being taken by the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s combined workers’ committee for the last three weeks will stop, at least until next week. The Jerusalem La-bor Court decided this yesterday, following an IBA request for injunctions to halt the sanctions. There will be another court hearing next Monday, and until then labor and manage-ment are expected to discuss a compromise. Over the last few weeks, the workers’ committee has been imposing sanctions to protest against the disparity between their members’ condi-tions of employment and those common in the public and in other places at the IBA. The sanctions have included halting the use of teleprompters and the functioning of mobile studios, and the workers also did not produce subtitles. (Gili Izikovich )

Frida Kahlo work to be exhibited here

The Frida Kahlo work “My Grandparents, My Parents and I (Family Tree )” has been loaned to the Israel Museum for an exhibit opening at the end of this month. Dr. Ellen and B. Matthew Ross donated the work to the Museum of Modern Art (Moma ) in New York, which is making the loan from its permanent collection. The Kahlo work is an oil and tempera painting on metal, from 1936, and is a self-portrait combined with a family tree. Kahlo, the daughter of a Hun-garian-Jewish father and a Mexican mother of Indian and Spanish origin, included in the background a drawing of her childhood home and other scenes. The exhibit here, “Fam-ily Traces,” will include works by contemporary artists and those going back to the 17th and will show some 70 works dealing with family portraits. (Ellie Armon Azoulay )

During one of my first visits to Germany and Austria many years ago, I learned that one of

the great pleasures of life was the bier-garten, outdoor areas with wood tables and benches, most often in a garden or under the shade of tall chestnut trees at which various breweries would of-fer their beers to the public.

Ever since they were first estab-lished in the 19th century, the beer garden has not changed much at all. Once seated, generally at a table shared with others, you could order your beer in quantities ranging from a 1/4-liter, 1/3-liter, half-liter, a full liter or even two-liter glasses, or in highly decorated steins with covers to keep the flies from your beer.

No less important is the food served at these beer gardens − almost always a variety of simple but delicious sau-sages, herring, sauerkraut, cheeses

and potato salad. And, because of the odd Bavarian beer garden decree, beer gardens are required to allow patrons to bring in their own food as well.

It has taken Tel Aviv 200 years to catch up, but we finally we have our own beer garden, set on the sidewalk under the shade of the well-known Carmella Banachala restaurant. And a true beer garden it is.

Okay, there is not a chestnut tree in sight but there are a few trees here and there, the area is largely shaded, the white wood tables and chairs are actually quite comfortable and, as is the case in many German and Austrian establishments, only one kind of beer is served, the Bavarian Paulaner.

Founded in the early 1600’s in Mu-nich, Paulaner is tarnished gold in color and has a slightly cloudy appear-ance. With a long lasting head when drawn from the keg, as is the case

here, this is a delicious medium-bod-ied wheat beer, showing yeasty, nutty and raisin flavors on a background of sweet lemons and minerals.

Chosen by chef Daniel Zach, the beer is a fine companion to the foods served.

My choice for a first course was the chicken liver pate: a thick slice of in-tentionally coarse liver with a gener-ous number of pine nuts and in which the clear flavors of butter and juniper berries made themselves felt nicely.

Instead of eating this in the French manner, by spreading the pate on toast, I ordered one of the home-made pretzels. Although the pretzel origi-nated thousands of years ago in Al-sace, Germans today claim it as their own.

The pretzel I received was made traditionally, by precooking it in boiling water and then sprinkling it coarse salt and caraway seeds before baking it in the oven. Considered the ideal accompaniment to beer, the deli-cious pretzel I received was just as it should be − crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and was a treat with the well-made pate.

My companion opted for the ikra, or caviar. The home-made concoc-tion was far thicker and less pink than most local versions and was closer to what’s served in Bavaria. It was perfectly salty and packed with the flavor of the pressed fish roe; this too went splendidly with the second pret-zel we ordered.

I continued with what must be the ultimate Germanic dish − sausage. The weisswurst, made from finely ground veal and pork and flavored with parsley is a white sausage about 10 centimeters long and two centime-

ters thick and is also the best known Bavarian sausage.

Here it was grilled and served with traditional curry-flavored ketchup on a bed of spaetzle, noodle-like cre-ations containing nothing more than eggs, flour, salt and water.

The bratwurst, made entirely from generously seasoned pork, was some-what larger and a bit spicier and was served with fine mustard and a good potato salad, just like it should be.

My companion decided to stick with Mediterranean offerings over German ones and ordered a dish of calamari. The calamari tubes, done a la plancha until they were just soft enough, were tossed together with arugula, lemon and garlic to form a tempting serving. Perhaps not indig-enous to German beer gardens, the dish felt perfectly at home in a res-taurant not at all far from Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market.

Our bill for two came to a reason-able NIS 250. Mugs of beer cost NIS 23 for 1/3-liter; 29 for a half-liter; and 45 for a full liter. In my case, because it was a warm evening, I opened with a 1/3-liter glass which I downed imme-diately and then went on to a half-li-ter which I sipped slowly through my meal. Here, unlike in Germany, cli-ents can not bring one of their favor-ite beer steins with them, or leave it at the restaurant for their next visit.

However, this is forgivable, for from the food to the service and the simple but pleasant atmosphere, all else was perfectly in place. I intend to return frequently.

Beer Garden at Carmella Banach-ala: Rehov Rambam 14. Open daily 18:00-24:00. Reservations not accept-ed. Tel: (03 ) 5161417.

Dining Out / Daniel Rogov

Garden of malty delights

Not everyone welcomed the Inbal troupe with open arms. The melting pot needed to forge Israeli society

was the troupe’s first Achilles’ heel.

Nir KafriPROST!: The good times roll at Carmella Banachala’s beer garden.

Courtesy Museum of Modern Art New York

“My Grandparents, My Parents and I (Family Tree)” By Frida Kahlo.

Photos: Moshe Shai and Mula Haramti / From the book “Sara’s Way.”

“Women,” from 1959. Above, Ilana Cohen in “Urn,” 1966.

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