Israel Ballet turns 35. (News).

The Israel Ballet is celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary this season with a showcase of programs to whet the appetite of many a balletomane. Now, even in the midst of social upheaval, the country's largest dance group, and its only classical ballet company, is still going strong. To celebrate its continued success, the company has prepared a special lineup of works by illustrious dancemakers, including Balanchine and Cranko.

The festivities also honor the ongoing artistic directorship of wife-and-husband team Berta Yampolsky and Hillel Markman, who founded the company and had their first booking at the Rina Cinema in the town of Hulon, near Tel Aviv. They opened on the coldest day of the year, and the theater had no heating. Markman remembers watching his breath condense in the cold air as he danced.

Today The Israel Ballet is a world-class company with thirty-five professional dancers (native Israelis as well as immigrants from Russia, Europe, and the United States) and financial support from the Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sport and the City of Tel Aviv. It performs regularly at the 1,600-seat Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center and draws large crowds. In addition, this January the company performed The Sleeping Beauty at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, which seats 2,600 and is the home of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Balanchine ballets feature prominently in the repertoire, namely Concerto Barocco, Four Temperaments, Square Dance, Symphony in C, Serenade, and the pas de deux from Agon. In 1981, The Israel Ballet performed Serenade at Carnegie Hall. "Mr. B was in the audience and we were terrified," says Yampolsky.

Speaking at the reception afterwards, Balanchine said, "This is the best foreign company that does my Serenade so well." Balanchine even gave the company permission to perform some of his works free of charge.

Currently, The Israel Ballet is housed in a school gym that has been transformed into dance studios. But they may not have to mingle with bouncing balls for much longer. There are plans to build the company a new home in Tel Aviv that will offer spacious studios and surroundings more fitting for a national ballet company. Money has been raised to pay for the new building, but the company is still looking for funding to equip its new space.

In the meantime, it keeps performing. And this season's bill is a demonstration of the company's artistry and range. The works included are Onegin by John Cranko, The Sleeping Beauty and Gurrelieder by Berta Yampolsky, and a triple bill consisting of Serenade by Balanchine, Mephisto Waltz by Yampolsky, and the world premiere of Bach Divisions by Krzysztof Pastor. They have also invited the Bolshoi Ballet's Anna Antonicheva and Vladimir Neporozniy to dance as special guests this season.

Other prominent dancers, including Cynthia Gregory and Edward Villella, have guested with the company over the years. The ballet's spokesperson, Varda Shpelman, notes that the recent upsurge in violence in the area makes it difficult to convince dancers to come to Israel. But the company is committed to working as usual, hasn't cancelled any performances, and continues to draw large audiences. As Antony Tudor once remarked to Yampolsky, "There are two miracles in Israel: one that there is water and the other a ballet company."