Baruh Agadaty Israeli dancer, choreographer, choreographer, artist, film director and producer. Country: Israel

1. Baruch Agadati: A Multitalented Israeli Artist
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career

Baruch Agadati: A Multitalented Israeli Artist

Baruch Agadati was an Israeli dancer, choreographer, ballet master, artist, film director, and producer. Born as Burya Kaushansky in the town of Bendery on the banks of the Dniester River, he later became known as Baruch Agadati. He grew up in a wealthy family, with two younger siblings, a brother named Itzik and a sister named Reyzl.

Early Life and Education

Agadati studied at a heder and a secular gymnasium in Bendery. At the age of fifteen, in 1910, he independently traveled to Palestine and enrolled in the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem under the guidance of Boris Shatz. While living in Petah Tikva, he worked as a road paver and later taught private dance lessons to support himself. In 1914, Agadati returned to his parents and joined the ballet school at the Odessa Opera House. Upon graduation, he was accepted into the theater's dance troupe. It was during this time that he was given the stage name "Agadati," which means "legendary" in Hebrew, by poet Yakov Fikhman.

Career

After the end of World War I in 1919, Agadati returned to Palestine and dedicated himself to dance. He initially organized a ballet troupe called the Jewish Art Ballet, but it did not achieve success. He then shifted his focus to modern choreography, creating dance performances that incorporated classical music, traditional Hasidic dance, and costumes of his own design. Over time, he began to include Eastern and religious motifs in his programs. Agadati also performed as a soloist in the troupe, which eventually became known as "Hevra Trask."

In the early 1920s, Agadati created his own dance called "Hora Agadati" based on Moldavian folk dances he had seen in Bessarabia. Set to the music of Romanian composer Alexander Boskovich with lyrics by Zeev Havatzelet, this dance had a fast-paced rhythm in 4/4 time, similar to the circular choreography of Moldavian dances. The "Hora Agadati" became immensely popular, becoming the first Israeli national dance and remaining widely performed to this day.

From 1923 to 1927, Agadati and his troupe lived in Europe, touring in Warsaw, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris. The troupe gained significant recognition during this time, with the publication of the first Hebrew monograph dedicated to Agadati in 1925. Natalia Goncharova, wife of Agadati's fellow artist Mikhail Larionov, created some costume designs for his performances. Agadati was part of the artistic community in Paris, befriending Larionov, Goncharova, and painter Mane Katz.

Upon his return to Tel Aviv, Agadati gradually shifted his focus away from choreography, which did not garner much interest among the settlers at the time. He dedicated himself to organizing the annual carnival processions known as "Adloyada" for the holiday of Purim in Tel Aviv, which became a tradition. In 1928, he starred in the joint Palestinian-German film "Aviv Be'eretz Israel" (Spring in Palestine), a combination of fiction and documentary. This style attracted Agadati, and in 1931, he co-founded the film company Aga-film with his brother Itzik. The company focused on producing documentary films about the lives of settlers until 1934. In 1935, they released the first feature film, "Zot Hi Haaretz" (This is the Land), which combined fiction and documentary elements. Agadati continued to be involved in the film industry, working as a producer, director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, and set designer for his own films.

Later in his career, Agadati opened the first permanent movie theater in Tel Aviv in the mid-1930s. His interest in film persisted, and in 1950, he co-founded the Geva Film company in Tel Aviv with the Navon brothers. While the Navon brothers focused on producing, Agadati often served as a producer, director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, and set designer for his films. Some notable films include "Nave Midbar" (Oasis in the Desert, 1960), which received a special award at the Stockholm Film Festival, "I Like Mike" (1961), "Hevra She-Kazot" (Such a Company, 1964), and "Halach Ba-Sadot" (Walking in the Fields, 1967) based on the novel by Moshe Shamir.

Baruch Agadati never married and passed away on January 18, 1976, in Tel Aviv. After his death, a documentary film about his life by Adam Greenberg was released in 1976, followed by an extensive monograph by Giora Manor in 1986. His contributions to Israeli arts and culture are commemorated with streets named after him in Israel.