Baruch Agadati | |
|---|---|
 Agadati in 1925 | |
| Born | Baruch Kaushansky February 18, 1895 Bendery,Bessarabia Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 18 January 1976(1976-01-18) (aged 80) |
| Resting place | Trumpeldor Cemetery, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Citizenship | Israel |
| Alma mater | Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design |
| Awards | Worthy Citizen of Tel Aviv Award, Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, 1976 |
Baruch Agadati (Hebrew:ברוך אגדתי, alsoBaruch Kaushansky-Agadati; January 8, 1895 – January 18, 1976) was a Russian-born Israeli classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director.[1][2][3]
Baruch Kaushansky (later Agadati) was born to aJewish family in theBessarabia Governorate,Russian Empire[4] and grew up inOdessa.[2] He immigrated to theregion of Palestine in the early 1900s.[5] In Palestine, he was known for performing Jewishfolk dances in anexpressionist style, often in solo performances he called "concerts" in which he would portray differentShtetl characters.[6] Hisbohemian stylings—one performance featured him openly urinating on the back wall of the stage—scandalized themiddle class.[7]
Agadati attended theBezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem from 1910 to 1914.[5][8] When World War I started in 1914, he was in Russia visiting his parents and was unable to return to Palestine.[9] He remained there and studiedclassical ballet, joining the dance troupe of theOdessa Opera and Ballet Theater.[10] In 1919, he returned to Palestine. In 1920, he moved to theNeve Tzedek neighborhood inTel Aviv. Until his death is 1976, he worked in theatre, painted, danced and choreographed Israeli folkdance, produced the famous Purim "Ad DeLo Yada" Carnival balls. He is buried inTrumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv.[5]
Kaushansky returned to Russia during theFirst World War and took the name Agadati.[2] After Agadati's return to Palestine in 1919, he began to give solo dance recitals[10] and became one of the pioneers of cinema in Israel.[11][12] Agadati purchased cinematographerYaakov Ben Dov's film archives in 1934, when Ben Dov retired from filmmaking.[12] He and his brother Yitzhak used it to start the AGA Newsreel.[12][13] He directed the earlyZionist film entitledThis is the Land (1935), the first Hebrew speaking film, and a new version in 1963, calledTomorrow's Yesterday.[14][15]
In the 1920s and 1930s, he was known for organizingAdloyada Tel AvivPurim balls.[2][5][16]
Agadati's costume for "Yihie" ("Yemenite Ecstasy"), a solo show that also toured Europe and South America, was designed byNatalia Goncharova ofBallets Russes.[17]
In 1924, Agadati choreographed a dance based on theRomanianHora that became known as "Hora Agadati". It was performed by theOhel Workers' Theatre, which toured pioneer settlements in theJezreel Valley.[18] The dancers form a circle, holding hands and move counterclockwise following a six-beat step in a walk-walk-step-kick-step-kick pattern.
Archival photographs of Baruch Agadati in costume, taken during the late 1920s.
Photographer: Atelier Willinger, Vienna
Collection of the Bat Sheva andYitzhak Katz Archive,Information Center for Israeli Art,Israel Museum, Jerusalem
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