Reflections on Existing Subject Material (Print)
Yardena Cohen: Creating Hebrew Dance in Mandatory Palestine - Rottenberg
This article presents a biography of Yardena Cohen, one of the central figures in the creation of Israeli dance, and in the process also outlines the development of the nation’s dance traditions throughout the 20th century. Cohen was born in 1910 and lived until 2012 dancing, choreographing, and teaching dance almost until her death. She was important in every step of the creation of a Hebrew dance. Throughout the period of Mandatory Palestine (Palestine ruled by British Mandate, from 1920-1948), she was consciously involved in creating forms of dance that could represent what was an emerging identity. Much of her influence came from European dance academies, and this article details her extensive travels and studies throughout Europe before World War II. She also consciously and explicitly drew from local traditions, claiming that since she grew up in the same desert environment as the Arab and Palestinian tribesmen, her body moves in similar ways, and therefore the dance she creates is similar. She claimed that the desert landscape inspired her in the same way it had inspired those who had lived there for millennia, and she was an outspoken believer that Jews and Palestinians should be viewed as members of the same community and tradition. Throughout her life, she was a proponent of cooperation and coexistence between the Israeli people - mostly refugees from the Holocaust - and the Palestinians. Her career stretched across many decades and in that time she created and choreographed a number of elaborate, successful, and important dance events based on stories from the Bible and mostly involving large numbers of dancers in local and traditional Arab costume. These dances provided common experiences for the members of the new community and helped to create a sense of community with each other as well as with the natives, from whom some of the dance tradition was appropriated. During the period of the Mandate, the Jewish population increased from 80,000 to 650,000 and most of the newcomers had very little in common culturally, making Cohen’s work in creating Israeli dance pivotal in the formation of a unified culture. This article will provide my project with information on the formative process of Israeli dance, from the perspective of an Israeli writer. The author does acknowledge the contributions of Palestinian dance but believes that European tradition is an even stronger contributor to the tradition. Based on this article, I could conclude that Israeli dance is a mix of European and Palestinian styles, but largely based on the experience of those native to the region. Rottenberg’s arguments surrounding the idea of a necessity for a unifying Hebrew/Jewish culture echoes the arguments put forth by other scholars of dance in the region. This article is written from a historical, but also ethnographic and very personal standpoint.
Full Citation:
Rottenberg, Henia. “Yardena Cohen: creating Hebrew dance in Mandatory Palestine.” Israel Affairs, vol. 23, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1024-1042. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13537121.2017.1360051.
Post-Salvagism: Choreography and Its Discontents in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – Rowe
In this article from the Dance Research Journal, the known history of Palestinian dance is described and the author carefully describes a number of techniques used to understand the evolution of the tradition. The relationship between Palestinian and Israeli dance is mentioned tangentially, and the existence of Israel is not described as one of the major factors influencing the development of Palestinian dance. The author, Nicholas Rowe, argues that the idea that Palestinian dance has remained static and unchanging from Biblical time is a myth, and one that was mostly perpetuated by European tourists and colonizers beginning in the nineteenth century. Traditional Palestinian dance as it is known today is a combination of local traditions and the types of dance thought to be expected by outsiders. Rowe argues that the dances that are today considered ancestral are in fact mostly contrived forms, originated in the last two centuries. The pressure to conform to Western expectations slowed the development of Palestinian dance, and then the introduction of the fundamentalist Salafya movement¹ in the mid-twentieth century further restricted the development of Palestinian dance, especially the participation of women. In spite of these obstacles, Palestinian dance has evolved continually over time and has reached a stage where women are once again included and new elements - both from within the culture and from Western music - can be found in dance throughout Palestine. This article provides a thorough historiography of the sources on Palestinian dance and an overview of the ways it has evolved. The author is not writing specifically about the interplay between Israeli and Palestinian dance, but it provides a good foundation for understanding Palestinian dance. Rowe introduces the revolutionary term “post-salvagism” to describe a recuperative attitude toward the restrictive terms of modernity that Palestinian dance faces. He suggests that dance study lens such as postmodernism, modernism, and post-colonialism reinforce the understanding that Palestinian dance is not a vibrant, always-changing tradition. Rowe describes “Post-salvagism” as “the process of saving and preserving cultural artifacts and practices in a community that has undergone a process of massive socio-cultural dislocation. This is the articles primary contribution, and allows us to consider how the term can extend to include geopolitical dislocation.
¹Salafya movement: A conservative Islamic Reform movement from Egypt and the Arabian peninsular region that reached Palestine in the 20th century. Called for a return to the traditions of early Sunni Islam and kept women from participating publicly in activities such as dance.
Full Citation:
Rowe, Nicholas. “Post-Salvagism: Choreography and Its Discontents in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Dance Research Journal, vol. 41, no. 1, Summer 2009, pp. 45-68. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20527623.
Dance and Political Credibility: The Appropriation of Dabkeh by Zionism, Pan-Arabism,and Palestinian Nationalism – Rowe
In this article, Nicholas Rowe directly addresses the ways Israeli culture appropriated the form of dance known as dabkeh from indigenous tribes in the area, and also how the dance was then further appropriated for political purposes by both the Pan-Arabic movement and the Palestinian Nationalist movement. He uses a historical and sociopolitical lens to dissect and present the following evidence. Rowe argues that when Jewish refugees arrived in Israel, according to Rowe, they consciously sought to distance themselves from European culture and define themselves in their own way. As part of this process, there was an effort first to appropriate local dance traditions, and then to downplay the contributions of those locals. While some Israeli dance specialists acknowledged the contributions of local tradition (see Rottenberg), others - especially politicians - often choose to interpret dabkeh dances as inherently Israeli or as a product of the genius of their own creative artists. Rowe historicizes the debates over dabkeh as follows. As part of the settlement process, dabkeh became a tool for Israeli officials to proclaim a unified Israeli culture, while claiming the dance form was an outgrowth of the spirit of the Israeli people. Soon after this happened, the Pan-Arabic movement in Palestine and elsewhere began to consider dabkeh as not only a distinctly Arabic dance, but also as one that conformed to Western theatrical aesthetics. The most important consequence of this was that women, who had traditionally been central and active players in dabkeh, were sometimes excluded and almost always censored in their expression in the dance. Women were discouraged from being overtly provocative, and they were pushed into background roles to make way for men. Rowe does not connect this change in dabkeh to the Israeli interference in the culture, and there is no indication that he sees a causal connection. Finally, Rowe argues that Palestinian nationalists also coopted dabkeh, claiming that it was an ancient form of dance for their people that predates even the Jewish traditions of the Old Testament, being in fact connected to the ancient Canaanite fertility rituals of the region. These claims were intended to support the claim that contested land in fact should rightfully belong to the Palestinian people, who hold a claim even older than the pre-diaspora Jews. This article will be useful to me because Rowe’s analysis directly supports the contention that the appropriation of dabkeh by Israel was both political and an intentional part of a process of identity formation. This evidence mirrors the information in his book almost exactly and will make up the central part of my argument on the page describing the active appropriation and evolution of dabkeh dance.
Full Citation:
Rowe, Nicholas. “Dance and Political Credibility: The Appropriation of Dabkeh by Zionism, Pan-Arabism, and Palestinian Nationalism.” Middle East Journal, vol. 65, no. 3, Summer 2011, pp. 363-380. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23012170.
Nationalism and Ambivalence: Ethnicity, Gender and Folklore as Categories of Otherness - Roginsky
In this article, Dina Roginsky explores the relationship between nationalism in Israel and the understanding of “Others”, especially through a case study of 70 years of Israeli dance. Roginsky uses historical and ethnographic research with elements of postcolonial theory to structure her argument. She writes about the way Israelis define their identities in terms of ethnicity (Askenazic or “Oriental” Jews, or Arabs), gender, and country of origin (such as Yemen or Morocco). She describes Israeli dance as a purposefully constructed cultural form, which the Jewish refugees in Israel were enthusiastically interested in supporting, as a means of supporting the creation of a shared national culture. The pioneers of Israeli dance were mainly Ashkenazic women from Eastern Europe trained in the European tradition, but open to embracing other dance forms, especially local Arab elements. Roginsky makes it clear that, from its beginnings, Israeli dance did incorporate indigenous traditions since the women coordinating the movement largely felt that native forms probably resembled the traditions of pre-diaspora Jewish society. Also, these early female leaders in the field of dance felt that incorporating indigenous dance with the Jewish traditions would be a good way to unite the people of the new country. Later, as other ethnic groups moved into Israel, they added their contributions to Israeli dance and there gradually came to be some disagreement on what types of dance were authentic, what should be classified as national, and what as “ethnic”. Roginsky argues that Israeli dance came to be dominated not by European Jewish women, but by Oriental Jewish men, at the same time the types of dance came to be delineated and categorized. This article will be very useful to me as it discusses to some extent the influence that indigenous Palestinian dance has had on the formation of an Israeli “national dance” tradition. Roginsky’s argument is very much in line with the arguments seen in Cohen and Rowe’s works. They both see the danced nationalism present in Zionist Israel as a way to understand the counter-nationalism in current Palestinian dance. I will use her information to support my claims that Israeli dance drew from Palestinian traditions, among others, in its formative phases. Further aiding my investigation of appropriation, Roginsky references here a compelling argument in Rowe’s book Raising Dust, which examines the idea that Zionist immigrants to the region treated Palestinians as though they were relics of a past biblical period.
Full Citation:
Roginsky, Dina. “Nationalism and ambivalence: ethnicity, gender and folklore as categories of otherness.” Patterns of Prejudice, vol. 40, no. 3, 2006, pp. 237-258. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00313220600769505.
Dancing Belonging: Contesting Dabkeh in the Jordan Valley, Jordan - Van Aken
This article provides a detailed technical description of dabkeh dance practices among refugees in the East Bank of the Jordan Valley and explains just how intimately dance is a part of the cultural identity of those refugees. The article’s content is only indirectly related to my argument, since it only very briefly intersects the topic of Israeli dance and its relationship to its Palestinian equivalent. It is very useful, however, in illustrating the almost ubiquitous influence dabkeh has on Palestinian culture, especially among refugees in the Jordan Valley. Dance is described as a nightly event among these refugees and one of the defining features of membership in Palestinian community. These dabkeh events define and exhibit a person’s rank in the community, their relationships with others, their skill and confidence, their wealth, and even the respect they are normally accorded by others. Van Aken discusses how dance is a part of weddings, birthday parties, holidays, and almost any celebratory occasion. They are the place where relationships are formed and reaffirmed, where courtship often takes place, and where major life events are announced to the community. Given Van Aken’s explanations of the centrality of dabkeh dance to Palestinian refugee life, it is easy to understand the upset reaction at what many Palestinians deem to be the appropriation of such a central, intimate aspect of their culture by Israeli dancers and choreographers, and its commodification in absence of the other traditions with which it is intertwined. The article describes the different types of dabkeh and the meaning of different roles in the choreography of the dance, the significance of distinct positions that individuals hold within the dance and the fluidity of these roles, the instruments used, and some of the cultural expectations. Different categories of dabkeh dance are identified - roughly categorized as halal and haram - and there is an acknowledgement of both the diversity within the Jordan Valley, of types and intentions of different dabkeh events, as well as the rapid rate of continuous change within the dance form. The author describes visiting the Jordan valley twice, six months apart, and being shocked by the significant changes in dabkeh tradition that he observed in that time, including the elimination of a specific musical instrument from performances and the inclusion of Western dance music stylings, such as rap. This ethnographic and humanist approach is touching and accessible to those outside of the realm of dance research, including those interested in social justice, ethnic studies, conflict, migration, and Middle Eastern history. Dabkeh is described as integral to the cultural identity of the Palestinian refugees of the region and also as a vibrant, constantly evolving form of expression. This will help me in my construction of an argument by tying the more intimate and personal aspects of dabkeh dance to the marginalized position of Palestinian refugees, and how dance is a sustaining community practice. It will also serve as a basis for the general context of the project and the conclusion that dance is an invaluable part of creating a culture.
Full Citation:
Van Aken, Mauro. “Dancing Belonging: Contesting Dabkeh in the Jordan Valley, Jordan.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 32, no. 2, March 2016, pp. 203-222. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13691830500487431.
Raising Dust - Nicholas Rowe
Nicholas Rowe’s seminal publication, Raising Dust, is a composition reflecting nearly a decade of research. Rowe is a scholar who currently serves as an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland. In the early 2000s, Rowe spent time living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and working on performance education. His PhD from the London Contemporary Dance School is on Palestinian dance. The book contains four distinct parts: “Entering Palestine and its history”, “1800-1947, Dance observed: the salvage paradigm”, “1948-80, Dance revived: three processes of salvage”, and “1980-2008, Dance in evolutionary motion: the post-salvage paradigm”. For the purposes of my project, I have chosen to focus on parts 1-3 of the book in order to more clearly focus on the geopolitical and socio-cultural stakes of dance in Occupied Palestinian regions and the young state of Israel.
Part one of the book begins with an exploration of dance, people, and politics in a highly militaristic Israel. Rowe describes a personal experience he had while traveling to a dance meeting in the West Bank where he encountered Israeli soldiers who sprayed tear gas at Palestinians who defended themselves by throwing rocks (3-4). This experience inspired Rowe to become more invested in the history of the Palestinian people and specifically their relation to the Zionist state of Israel. He opens the book with the idea that dance is inherently linked to the socio-political environment surrounding it. This framework remains intact throughout the rest of the book and speaks to Rowe’s ability as a researcher to choose a unifying theme for all of his work. The chapter continues on to address the “contested” and “absent” histories of Palestine and Israel. Traditionally, Israelis hold that either no one lived in Palestine before they controlled it and that Arab communities immigrated after their arrival, or that Palestinian peoples are artifacts of an ancient Biblical state that Jews rightfully have control over. The Israeli government, enacting Zionist politics, claims that Palestinians left of their own accord. Other sources (such as the website Palestine Remix) demonstrate how they were forcibly removed from present day Israel by the Israeli military force. In all, Rowe concludes that the unfortunate reality is that accepted histories tend to “nullify alternatives to the Israeli version of history” (8). One of Rowe’s main contributions in the first part is his suggestion of an alternative identifying label for Palestinians. Rowe strongly suggests that in discourse surrounding any aspect of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the term “indigenous population” be used instead of “Palestinian people” because of the political and geographic ambiguities that exist with this label (10). Another main contribution his use of the term “post-salvagism” to describe the dynamics affecting dance in Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Part two of the book uses research methods such as locating primary source material (usually foreign observation of indigenous dance) to build a narrative of dance and the salvage paradigm between the years 1800 and 1947, before the creation of the state of Israel. Rowe responds to the difficulty many find in “reconcil[ing] the local indigenous culture with imaginings of a biblical lifestyle” (25). The authenticity of traditional Palestinian dance as it relates to the dabkeh style specifically is an issue that has affected researchers and observers since the early 19th century. Rowe offers several accounts of primary sources that describe social activities involving what we know today to be elements particular to dabkeh dance such as stomping, grunting, and circular line dancing. The main takeaway from this part besides the inclusion of primary sources is the idea that dance has a political dimension. Rowe discusses the “political use of dance as a mediator of cultural trauma in the late 20th century” (44). This is the ideal transition for the next part of the book.
Part three of the book is an interesting look at three distinct processes of salvage that involved dance between the years of 1948 and 1980, which involves the most resistance against and support for the newly created state of Israel. By this point, a unifying political and cultural identity has been difficult to achieve in Palestinian Occupied Territories due to limitations from the Israeli government, geographic dispersal, and divisive thoughts on the Israeli regime. In this part is the first use of the word “appropriation” to describe what the Israelis had done when they took from indigenous Palestinian dabkeh dance forms. This claim revolutionizes the way that this issue should be looked at. Rowe writes that “indigenous dance practices were appropriated by Zionist colons” and that “such cultural appropriation affected the indigenous population’s view of their own dances and identity” (81). This is a riveting argument for Rowe to make as it is decisively political and bold for him to take on since tensions are still high in the region and narratives of history are highly contested. The three different types of salvage theory that Rowe talks about include Zionist salvage, Pan-Arabist salvage, and Palestinian nationalist salvage. Zionism as a movement is a political ideology and institution that had a main project in the creation of the state of Israel, in order to achieve Jewish sovereignty and reclaim the Holy Land as Jewish land. Jews who had immigrated to Israel were searching for a unifying identity for themselves, especially after the destructive and horrible events during World War II and the devastating effects of centuries of religious persecution. In an attempt to find their own culture, they took from the indigenous communities in the region. Rowe says “dabkeh provided an image, but not an embodied set of meaning” for the newly located Jews (87). Pan-Arabist salvage and later Palestinian nationalist salvage can both be explored through the creation of the PLO, or Palestine Liberation Organization - and the repercussions in the uses and discourse about dance.
Rowe’s book Raising Dust is a compelling work that anchors my project in history and ethnography. The vast themes and topics that he includes in the piece serve readers interested in dance, politics, international affairs, and dance scholarship. It is also of interest to human rights activists, dance pedagogists, and Middle Eastern performance scholars. Since my project focuses on understanding the process of Israeli appropriation of Palestinian (indigenous population) dabkeh dance forms, this is a very useful source. His work will also be useful for creating a historical template for discussing the information that will be found in both my Scalar project and my final paper. Rowe describes the politics, geography, cultural aspects, religious conflicts, militaristic ambitions, and foreign intervention in both modern day Israel and Palestine. The conceptual contributions of alternative labels (from “Palestinian people” to “indigenous populations”) and post-salvagism as a term to be used in dance research are also useful to me. Post-salvagism can be thought of as a contextual notion for modern and contemporary concepts. It is in relation to a “salvaged past” that combines elements of the past and present. One of the final thoughts that Rowe leaves us with is the thought that “appropriated dabkeh steps [by Israeli Jews] were subsequently even used in an antagonistic context against the indigenous population [of Palestine]” (87). This ties together the most piercing parts of Rowe’s work; namely, his interest in how dance can be used as a political tool, statement, or expression.
Full Citation:
Rowe, Nicholas. Raising Dust: A Cultural History of Dance in Palestine, London/New York, I.B. Taurus, 2010.