Fifty years ago, following the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, choreographer and fine artist Noa Eshkol decided to put a pause to her dancing. The decision came when one of her dancers was called up to serve in the military. Eshkol responded by halting all work on her large body of dances until said soldier returned home safely.
“This is no time to dance; we shall wait until the war is over,” she said. In the weeks following, Eshkol quickly found a new outlet for her overflowing creative talents, one that would continue to fascinate her for the rest of her life. Eshkol gathered scraps of fabric, and, together with dancers from her troupe, crafted them into large tapestries.
Eshkol is one of the most influential Israeli artists of all time. The daughter of former Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol, she was born in 1924 in Kibbutz Degania Bet. After her parents’ divorce in 1927, she and her mother moved to America, only to return to Holon three years later. As a child, Eshkol studied and became intrigued by music notation. She quickly understood that dance required its own form of movement notation, the development of which became her legacy. In collaboration with Avraham Wachman, Eshkol developed a system for notating dance, which is still in use globally, either on paper or a computer screen.
Last February marked 100 years since Eshkol’s birth. Both in Israel and abroad, events were planned to celebrate the centennial, but those plans were interrupted by war. However, in the coming weeks, two events will honor Eshkol’s work and legacy, one in Berlin and the other in Tel Aviv.
In Berlin, the exhibition Noa Eshkol: No Time to Dance, curated by Kathleen Reinhardt with support from Artis, presents a collection of Eshkol’s tapestries, highlighting her political stance within the context of her artistic work. The exhibition opened in March and will remain on display through August.
The current group, which will perform A Warrior & A Dreamer in Tel Aviv, is composed of dancers who worked with Eshkol, such as Racheli Nul Kahana and Ruti Sela, as well as newer company members Mor Bashan, Noga Goral, and Dror Shoval.
Eskol's company bends own rules
Although Eshkol deemed war a reason to stop dancing in 1973, her company reversed the decision in 2024. The dancers will gather to present a selection of Eshkol’s bare-bones choreographies within the context of the ongoing war in Israel, with a deep awareness of how reality impacts the movements and viewer experience. Following the performance, a conversation will be held between Naomi Perlov, the artistic director of the Suzanne Dellal Centre, and the Chamber Dance Group performers, followed by a presentation by Moshe Shechter Avshalom about Eshkol’s life and work. Some of Eshkol’s tapestries will be on display.
These two events provide a mirror to one another. In Germany, Eshkol’s tapestries speak of the decision to stop dancing. In Israel, her company communicates the undying need to continue dancing, even in times of strife. Perhaps the convergence of these two perceptions shows how Eshkol managed to hold space for complexity and nuance within her life and work.
A Warrior & A Dreamer will be presented on August 10 at the Zehava and Jack Dellal Studio. For more information, visit www.suzannedellal.org.il.
Noa Eshkol: No Time to Dance is currently on display at the Georg Kolbe Museum. For more information, visit https://artis.art/grants_and_open_calls/grantees/noa_eshkol_no_time_to_dance
In Berlin, the exhibition “Noa Eshkol: No Time to Dance” is showing at the Georg Kolbe Museum. The exhibition opened in March and will remain on display through August.
