From All Of Us At
Audette Cadillac
We Wish You A
Happy and Healthy
New Year

7100 ORCHARD LAKE RD.

at the CIld Of NOrthWCtiterll Highway

. WEST BLOOMFIELD

851-7200

OPEN MON. & THURS. 'til 9 P.M.

To Our
Friends & Customers
Happy New Year

Our Best
Wishes For
A Happy
New Year!

DOLL

Ruthie & Marlene G

HOSPITAL

(''

3947BV:r.klle2yMile

(conveniently located
near 1-696)

543-3115

Franklin Plaza
358-4085
29107 Northwestern Hwy.
Southfield (2nd entrance from 12 Mile in rear)

Happy New Year
To All Our
Friends And Customers ...

SOLDIER Mon.-Sat.

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Dance Company
Has Smash Year

DORA SOWDEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

E

ach week kibbutzniks
from all over the coun-
try abandon their jobs
in the cowsheds, in the
orchards, in the kitchen and
in the nursery, and make
their way to Kibbutz Ga'aton
in Western Galilee. What, you
might ask, are they doing
there? The answer is, rehear-
sing — they are members of
the Kibbutz Contemporary
Dance Company.
Of Israel's numerous dance
companies, the Kibbutz Con-
temporary Dance Company
has to be the most unusual
and one of the most popular.
Complimentary and even en-
thusiastic press reviews have
created a growing demand for
the company's services both
at home and abroad.
Made up entirely of kib-
butzniks, only an occasional
guest dancer joins, fascinated
by the lifestyle of the mem-
bers and envigored by the
discipline of the company.
Two such visitors currently at
Kibbutz Ga'aton, the corn-
pany headquarters, are Igor
Vejsada of the New Ballet
Brno, who saw the company
when it came to Czechoslo-
vakia on tour, and Gideon
Obrarzanek, an Australian
who has set one of his
choreographic works for the
company.
Kibbutzniks of all ages get
their training at the Ga'aton
studios, but only the best can
qualify for the company. "The
standard of performance is as
high and as demanding as
any professional company
anywhere in the world," says
founder and artistic director
Yehudit Arnon. "This is
especially important as the
company often goes abroad."
Tours have testified that
this is indeed the case. The
company recently visited
Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Germany and Austria. They
have also been invited to
Australia to perform for both
adults and children at the
Melbourne International
Festival. Also on the agenda
is a trip to China.
It was the stubborn in-
sistence of Ms. Arnon that led
to the company's founding,
and it was her work as
teacher, choreographer, direc-
tor and mentor that made the
company what it is today.
Born in Czechoslovakia and
a survivor of the concentra-
tion camps, Ms. Arnon travel-
ed to Budapest after the war

in the hope of finding her
brother (which she did). She
also furthered her studies in
dance. In 1946 she married,
and together with her hus-
band went to Italy to await
transport to Israel. Mean-
while the Arnons took care of
orphan children also waiting
for transport and to pass the
time began teaching them to
dance.
A founder member of Kib-
butz Ga'aton, Ms. Arnon be-
came preoccupied with the
idea of dance education.
"Nobody thought about it at
the time," says Yehudit.
"They were more concerned
with folk dancing." Ms. Arnon
persevered and eventually
opened a studio in a disused
tobacco shed. "The kibbutz
had given up growing to-

Kibbutzniks of all
ages get their
training at the
Ga'aton studios.

bacco," she says, "but one
could still smell the leaves."
Other kibbutzim began to
express interest and in 1970
a small company was formed.
Other regional authorities
started promoting dance, but
the Ga'aton studio, rebuilt
and renovated, remains the
Kibbutz Dance Company's
professional headquarters.
The company continually
strives to improve its artistic
and technical standards and
so encourages the working
contribution of well known
dance teachers and choreog-
raphers from Europe and
America. These have in-
cluded Jiri Kylian from the
Netherlands, Mats Ek from
Sweden, and Anna Sokolow
from the United States.
Dancer/choreographer Daniel
Ezralow, who has lost count of
his working visits to Israel,
returned in September 1992
to choreograph Read My Hips
for the company, set to
original music by American
composer Michel Colombier.
"I did it first for the Hub-
bard Street (Chicago) com-
pany in 1989," said Mr.
Ezralow over the telephone in
between rehearsals. "I like
working with these dancers.
It's a serious company and I
hope to do more work for it.-
Yet the company's greatest
achievement is its own