ABOUT US
Bat-Dor was established in 1973 at the initiative of Mrs. Aliza Wolf in affiliation with Bat-Dor Tel Aviv, the Beer Sheva Municipality and the Ministry of Culture and Education under whose auspices the Administration of Culture operated. In 1995 an independent management was established for Bat-Dor Beer-Sheva, and the school was registered as an independent non-profit organization. This is the only multi-faceted and professional dance school in the south of Israel. The School has a rich and diverse curriculum that allows for absorbing students who want to study dance at various levels in a professional and supportive artistic environment.
Vision of excellence:
The School’s mission is to train professional dancers in all artistic dance styles, while at the same time giving children and teens wishing to dance for their enjoyment, the chance to learn from the most professional teachers.
Community vision:
To give every student the opportunity to study at the School regardless of their background or financial ability. To increase the number of dance lovers in the south of Israel, while providing tools for an educated appreciation of dance performances
Educational vision:
The studies enrich the students’ inner and spiritual world. The School introduces its students to the art of dance, while imparting the educational values that come with this field of study – learning habits that include perseverance, punctuality, effort education, inner discipline, aesthetics, group and teamwork, consideration and respect for others, and spatial orientation. These are all cornerstone values that will contribute to the student’s future in every walk of life. The School provides tools that enable an educated appreciation of dance performances and its graduates become dance lovers.
Milestones in Bat-Dor Beer Sheva’s History
1973 – establishment of the School. Dance classes are held for different ages in the building that was then the Community Center of Beer Sheva. The teachers all come from Tel Aviv, and the artistic and administrative management is run by Bat-Dor Tel Aviv.
1975 – The School moves to a building on Yad Vashem Street. The building has one standard dance studio, dressing rooms and an office. Classical ballet, modern dance and jazz are taught to children, teens and adults.
1977 – Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams are held for the first time for Bat-Dor’s Junior Division.
1982 – RAD intermediate exams are held for the first time for the School’s Adult Division. From this point forward, students continue to be assessed at other high levels, and Bat-Dor Beer-Sheva becomes an assessment center for all children of the Negev who train according to the RAD method in the professional division.
1985 – RAD exams for boys are held for the first time in Israel in the School’s professional boys division. At this time, close to 25 boys of varying ages study at Bat-Dor Beer Sheva. Many of them come to the School after scouting for gifted children from disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods as part of a neighborhood rehabilitation program.
1993 – Shimon Kalichman, a 18 year old school student, participates in the Genee International Ballet Competition in London, and is awarded a silver medal. He is the first and only student in Israel to win a medal in this competition.
1997 – Aliza Wolf, the School’s founder, retires, and Daniella Schapira is appointed to manage the School.
2002 – The school moves to its new premises on 13 HaShalom Street, Beer Sheva. The magnificent building is built thanks to the generous donation of Larry and Lillian Goodman of Chicago, USA, and the Beer Sheva Municipality’s Department of Education headed by Andrei Uzan.
Choreographer Tamir Ginz and Daniella Schapira form the Kamea Dance Company. The dance company is predominantly made up of graduates of the Bat-Dor Beer Sheva School, and it serves as a horizon for the School’s students. Kamea is the only dance company in the capital of the Negev.
2003 – The Larry and Lillian Goodman Bat-Dor Beer-Sheva Municipal Dance Center wins the Beer Sheva Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. Given by the Youth Department headed by Ruvik Danilovich.
2006 – The program for professional dancers is established. The aim of the program is to impart technical, artistic and intellectual tools for gifted students following military service, who have not received suitable training enabling them to specialize in dance.
2013 – Construction of the second floor of the Cebrin Goodman Home for the Kamea Dance Company was completed thanks to another generous donation from the Goodman Family Foundation, the Israel Lottery, and the Beer Sheva Municipality. The center now has a studio that is bustling with activity throughout the day.
2014 – Daniella Schapira, the Director General of the Association and director of the School, retired after leading the school to major achievements in the field of dance.
Merav Zimand is appointed Director-General of the Association and heads the institution, which includes the dance school and Kamea Dance Company.
Gali Ronen, a graduate of Bat-Dor Beer Sheva and a longstanding teacher at the School, is appointed director of the dance school.
2015 – Or Abuhav, a graduate of Bat-Dor Beer-Sheva and a longstanding teacher at the School, is appointed director of the Bat-Dor Beer Sheva School.