Berta Yampolsky

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Berta Yampolsky
Classical Ballet

Berta Yampolsky (born 1934) is a French-born Israeli ballet dancer and founder of the Israel Ballet.[1]

Early years

Berta Yampolsky was born in Paris. Her father, Naftali Yampolsky (1893–1980), was born in southern Russia. He was drafted into the Russian Imperial army, from which he succeeded in deserting and reached France. Her mother Yokheved (Vera) Shenker (1900–1980), was born in Odessa. She was the daughter of a fruit merchant. She studied medicine in Geneva and University of Paris, where she met Yampolsky.

When Berta was three years old, the Yampolsky family emigrated to

Mandate Palestine. They resided in Haifa
. Berta studied at a religious school for girls there, and at Hugim School as well as the Reali School.

She began to study dance with

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in USA. The couple returned to Israel in 1964. Upon return to Tel Aviv they were appointed as the main dancers and managers of the Israeli Opera
's ballet company. After a year the couple decided to leave the opera, since their dream of starting a high-profile ballet company would not be possible if limited by their operatic performances.

Israel Ballet

They couple's first independent company was an ensemble called The Classical Ballet of Holon, which they founded in 1967. Most of the performances of this company were based on duos from classical ballets. In 1970 Berta and Hillel established a ballet school in Tel Aviv. Their dance company grew up to include seven dancers. Yampolsky couldn't find high-profile local dancers in Israel and she and Hillel approached immigrants from the United States. Their first known soloists were Pamela Osserman and Marcia Zussman.

Until 1975, the company was modest local ballet without high visibility. In 1975 they were invited to perform at the Israel Festival. George Balanchine granted the company the rights to perform Serenade and Pas de deux from Agon free of charge. They also performed Electrobach by Félix Blaska at the festival. Practically unknown at that time, Israel Ballet surprised the audience and received a lot of enthusiastic reviews from the critics.

Yampolsky toured in the US with her Israel Ballet Company in 1975 and 1981. At that time it included twenty-five dancers. She was awarded prize for best foreign choreographer for her Dvorak Variations in Santiago, Chile.[2]

Yampolsky was main choreographer for the following Israel Ballet's performances: The House of Bernarda Alba (1978), Carmen (1980), Untitled (1981), Dvorak Variations (1981), Mendelssohn Concerto (1982), Opus 1 (1983), The Nutcracker (1985) and many more. Yampolsky's works included classic and neo-classic styles.[3]

Berta Yampolsky was Israel Ballet artistic director for forty five years till 2013. In 2018 Yampolsky published an autobiography named "The Optimists".[4][5]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Berta Yampolsky | Jewish Women's Archive". Jwa.org. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Yampolsky, Berta". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ^ "- Organization view". Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  4. ^ Lenkinski, Ori J. (17 September 2013). "Back on pointe - Arts & Culture - Jerusalem Post". Jpost.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ^ Green, David B. (4 March 2013). "Israel Ballet founder fired by auditor after 45 years as artistic director". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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