Sara Levi-Tanai was an Israeli choreographer, playwright, and lyricist renowned for her significant contributions to dance and theater in Israel. Her works, deeply rooted in Jewish and Yemenite traditions, significantly shaped Israel's cultural landscape.
Sara Levi-Tanai was born in Jerusalem to a family of Yemenite Jewish immigrants. Her parents emigrated from Yemen as part of the wave of Jewish migration in the late 19th. Despite significant economic hardships, Levi-Tanai's family maintained a rich cultural and religious life, profoundly influencing her artistic sensibilities.
After completing her schooling, Levi-Tanai trained as a nursery-school teacher at the Levinsky Teachers' Seminary. In her early career, she worked as a teacher and kindergarten instructor, using music and dance to educate children and pass on Yemeni Judaism's cultural traditions. Her innovative teaching materials, including original songs and music, gained significant recognition and have been used by generations of teachers, leading her to win the Tel Aviv Municipality’s Joel Engel Prize in 1957.
In 1949, Levi-Tanai founded the Inbal Dance Theater, a groundbreaking dance company that combined Yemenite Jewish folklore with contemporary dance forms. As Inbal's artistic director and primary choreographer, she created numerous works that celebrated Yemenite traditions, characterized by their rhythmic complexity, vibrant costumes, and expressive movements. Her choreography often presented biblical stories, traditional Yemenite dances, and themes of exile and redemption, resonating deeply with the Israeli public and the Jewish diaspora. Levi-Tanai was generally known in Israel and worldwide for the unique body language she created with the Inbal Dance Theater—the "Inbalite" technique. This innovative approach blended Yemenite folkloric elements with a theatrical, Western artistic platform. For this life project, she won the Israel Prize in 1973. Her theatrical approach, a multidimensional dance, theater, music, recitation, and acting performance, was considered modern and innovative. Her influence extended beyond Israel's borders. Inbal Dance Theater performed internationally, bringing Israeli and Yemenite culture to global audiences.
Members of the Yemenite "Inbal" dance troupe, 1956. (Credit: David Eldan)
Levi-Tanai was also a talented playwright and lyricist. Her songs, many of which became classics in the Israeli music repertoire, showcased her ability to weave poetic lyrics with haunting melodies, reflecting Israel's cultural mosaic. Among her famous works are Shir Hashirim ("Song of Songs") and El Ginat Egoz ("To The Walnut Grove"), which became hits and connected the Israeli audience to the Yemenite tradition in a deep and emotional way. Levi-Tanai also composed music for theater productions and films, collaborating with well-known artists such as Nahum Nardi.
Sara Levi-Tanai received numerous awards throughout her career for her contributions to Israeli culture. In 1964, her Book of Ruth won her an award from the Théâtre des Mondes in Paris. In 1973 she was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize in music and dance and in 1984 she won the Moshe Halevi Theater Prize, awarded by the Tel Aviv Municipality. In 1986 she was the first recipient of the Israel Labor Federation (Histadrut) Prize for music and dance. In 1988 she was made an honored citizen of Tel Aviv.
Sara Levi-Tanai's life and work exemplify the integration of traditional heritage with modern expression. Her contributions have left an indelible mark on Israeli culture, making her a pivotal figure in the history of Israeli performing arts. Her artistic vision and dedication inspire generations of artists and cultural practitioners.
Sources
Barkan, Elazar, and Karen Barkey, eds. Choreographies of Shared Sacred Sites: Religion, Politics, and Conflict Resolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.
Roginsky, Dina. "Orientalism, the Body, and Cultural Politics in Israel: Sara Levi-Tanai and the Inbal Dance Theater." Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, no. 11 (Spring 2006): 164-197. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Rottenberg, Henia. Modern Dance in Israel: Dancing with the Past and Moving Forward. Tel Aviv: Resling, 2019.
Biographies
Rothenberg, Henia, and Dina Roginsky, eds. Sara Levi-Tanai: Ḥayim shel Yetzirah [Sarah Levi-Tanai: A Life of Creation]. Tel Aviv: Resling, 2015. (in Hebrew)
Toledano, Gila. "Sara Levi-Tanai." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. Accessed July 22, 2024.
Manor, Giora. "Sara Levi-Tanai: Taking Ancient Yemenite Moves to Create Modern Dances." Jewish Theater and Dance. Accessed July 23, 2024.
Additional Bibliographies
Toladano, Gila. Sipurah shel lehakah: Sarah Levy-Tanay ve-Teatron-maḥol Inbal [The Story of a Troupe: Sarah Levy-Tanai and the Inbal Dance Theater]. Tel Aviv: Resling, 2005. (in Hebrew)
MA thesis on children's songs of Levy-Tanai: Kfir, Hagit. Between East and West: The Music of Sara Levi-Tanai. M.A. thesis, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Music, 1998. (in Hebrew)
The book of songs by Sara Levi-Tanai, edited by Avner Bahat: Levi-Tanai, Sara. Seu Zimrah. Ed. Avner Bahat. Tel Aviv: Inbal Dance Theater, Multi-Disciplinary Ethnic Center, 2012. Available online on Avner Bahat's website. (in Hebrew)
See also the review by Edwin Seroussi on the book of songs Seu Zimrah, availabe online here. (in Hebrew)
A list of songs written and composed by Sarah Levi-Tanai can be found on Zemereshet website. (in Hebrew)
Songs, commercial and ethnographic recordings, manuscripts, photographs, and many other archival materials of Sara Levi-Tanai can be found in the National Library of Israel's archive, some of which are available online.
The Inbal Dance Theater archival collection is located at the National Library of Israel. It includes many archival materials such as photographs, audio files, video recordings, performance programs and more. Also included in the archive are dozens of correspondences, and personal notes by Levi-Tanai, as well as letters and greetings sent to the troupe and Levi-Tanai, reflecting her extensive network with prominent dance figures during her career.
Additional pages on our website related to Yemenite singing and dancing
See the biography of Sarah Harat.
See the album Yaanu Bekol Shirim ('With Songs They Respond'), a pair of CDs (including a booklet) with recordings of the Diwan's song.
The project Jewish Music Mapped: The Music of the Yemenite Diwan in time and space.
Attribution of the article image: Photographer: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) / Dan Hadani collection, National Library of Israel / CC BY 4.0.
