Bethsabée de Rothschild

Bethsabée de Rothschild was born in 1914. Sources differ on her birthplace: the Jewish Women’s Archive says London, while the Jewish Virtual Library says France.[2][1] She was raised and educated in Paris and studied biology. The Jewish Women’s Archive records that she earned a bachelor’s degree at the Sorbonne, while the National Library of Israel’s archival biography also notes work at the Pasteur Institute.[2][4] Encyclopedia.com identifies her as a daughter of Édouard de Rothschild (1868–1949), of the French branch of the Rothschild family.[5]

In 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Rothschild left for New York with her family and studied sciences at Columbia University. She later enlisted in the Free French forces in New York, reported to London, and went with combat forces to Normandy. She took part in the liberation of Paris and stayed there to serve as a liaison between the French and United States armies.[2]

While in New York before her military service, Rothschild enrolled at Martha Graham’s School of Dance. After the war, she returned to New York and became Graham’s producer, admirer, and financial supporter.[2] A biography of Graham recounts that in 1944, while Rothschild was attending Graham’s classes after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe, Erick Hawkins persuaded her to give Graham’s company $500. The account describes this as the first of many contributions she made to the company.[6]

Rothschild’s patronage of Martha Graham preceded her move to Israel. She supported Graham from the early 1950s and brought Graham’s company to Israel in 1956.[7][2] The visit made a lasting impression on the local dance scene, contributing to a shift away from European expressionist dance and toward greater interest in Graham’s American style.[2] Rothschild’s work thus involved not only financing performances but also introducing Israeli audiences and dancers to a major contemporary dance influence.

The records give different dates for Rothschild’s move to Israel. The National Library of Israel’s biography says that she visited from 1951 and immigrated in 1962; the Jewish Women’s Archive says she settled there in 1958.[4][2] The French-language Times of Israel also describes her as having made aliyah, without resolving the date difference.[8]

Rothschild’s philanthropy extended beyond dance. She established the Batsheva de Rothschild Foundation for Arts and Sciences, which financed activities including the translation of ancient literature into Hebrew, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Maskit shop featuring Israeli-designed fashions, and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[2] She also established two foundations intended to advance science and technology in Israel.[1] The available accounts identify these broad areas of support but do not provide a complete list of grants or the foundations’ administrative histories.[1][2]

In 1963, Rothschild decided to establish a dance company in Israel, according to one account; other sources date the company’s formal founding to 1964.[7][1] The project reflected her aim of developing “a professional arena for Israeli dancers.”[3] The National Library’s company-archive description dates Batsheva Dance Company’s establishment to 1964 and records that Rothschild appointed Graham as artistic adviser.[9] The early company used Graham’s methods while placing strong emphasis on ballet training.[10]

Rina Schenfeld’s recollections describe Rothschild’s role in creating the company and building its first generation of dancers. Schenfeld recalled that Rothschild and Graham offered her a scholarship to study at Graham’s New York school after seeing her at a summer course at the Jerusalem Dance Academy. Rothschild proposed the name Batsheva and asked Schenfeld to learn Graham’s dances in New York so the company could seek permission to perform them. Schenfeld said she returned to Israel and established Batsheva with Rothschild, initially drawing on the dancers who had trained with her in New York.[11]

Schenfeld also recalled that Rothschild had previously supported her own dance company but concluded that creating a central company was preferable to funding several groups separately. In Schenfeld’s account, Graham visited Israel three times a year and made artistic decisions, while Rothschild brought other choreographers to the country. Batsheva’s repertory included works by Graham, Jerome Robbins, Glen Tetley, and Norman Morrice, as well as works by Israeli choreographers.[11][12] The company’s modern-dance style was strongly influenced by Graham’s technique, and Graham served as its first artistic adviser.[1]

The company’s creation marked a major change in Israeli dance. Its establishment has been described as a turning point after which American dance became the dominant influence in the field.[3] Batsheva combined Graham’s methods with an emphasis on ballet training and developed educational and outreach programs intended to bring dance to all sectors of Israeli society.[10] These accounts present the company both as a performance institution and as a means of cultivating dancers and broadening access to the art form.[3][10]

Batsheva later developed as a repertory company with changing artistic directors. Sources differ on the precise timing of state support: the National Library archive description says the company began receiving Ministry of Education and Culture support in 1975, while the Encyclopedia Judaica account says a subsidy was granted in 1977.[9][12] The National Library identifies Rina Schenfeld, Moshe Efrati, and Sharon Eyal among company members who later became key figures in Israeli dance. Its archive documents the company’s history from 1964 to 2014 through rehearsal and performance videos, photographs, programs, posters, reviews, press clippings, workbooks, production materials, and administrative records.[9]

Rothschild established a second major dance institution with dancer and teacher Jeanette Ordman. The National Library archive says that in 1965 she founded a dance school with Ordman, whom its catalog identifies as Jeanette Ordman (1933–2007), and that she later founded the Bat-Dor Dance Company.[4] Other sources date the Bat-Dor Dance School’s opening to 1967 and the company’s founding to 1968, while an Encyclopedia Judaica account gives 1967 for the company.[13][12] Bat-Dor combined modern dance with a strong emphasis on classical-ballet technique. Ordman served as artistic director, principal dancer, and head of the school, while Rothschild’s financial support enabled the company to purchase works by artists from around the world.[12]

Bat-Dor’s work extended beyond its original setting. A Jerusalem Post account describes the parent school in Tel Aviv as established in 1968 alongside a company founded and funded by Rothschild. It reports that a Beersheba organization later sought nonprofit status to secure more public funding and operated independently while retaining the Bat Dor name as a tribute to its founders.[14] Its artistic director, Daniella Schapira, credited the support of Rothschild and Ordman, saying she could not imagine the school’s establishment without them. The report says the Beersheba organization took steps toward independence while Rothschild was still alive.[14]

Rothschild’s relationship with Batsheva also included disagreements over the company’s direction and the use of her financial support. Accounts of the 1968 conflict over Ordman’s role differ: ynet says Rothschild appointed Ordman, a Royal Ballet-trained dancer, as rehearsal director to impose discipline, prompting protests by dancers and Ordman’s departure. Calcalist, recounting Rina Gluck’s account, describes the proposal as appointing Ordman artistic director; dancers objected to her classical rather than modern-dance and Graham background.[7][15] Both reports connect the dispute to the emergence of Bat-Dor, though they characterize Ordman’s proposed position differently.[7][15]

A separate crisis arose in 1974. Rothschild wanted to unite Batsheva and Bat-Dor because she could no longer finance both companies; Batsheva’s dancers objected, and Rothschild chose Bat-Dor as Batsheva moved toward public support.[15] Ynet describes Batsheva as facing closure that year and quotes Rothschild as saying, “There aren’t two companies in the country. There is only one company.”[7]

Rothschild’s personal archive covers 1976–1999 and consists of 13 files. The National Library’s catalog lists biographical materials, interviews, articles, documents, certificates, photographs, correspondence, memorial materials, reflections, and awards and honorary titles in her honor, without specifying the titles or dates of those honors. The catalog notes that the material forms part of the Bat-Dor Dance Company archival collection.[4]

Rothschild received the Israel Prize in 1989 in the category of special contribution to society and the state. The Ministry of Education’s recipient list records her as a laureate, and the Jewish Virtual Library likewise notes the award as recognition of her special contribution to Israeli society.[16][1] Her public and philanthropic work encompassed dance, the arts, science, and cultural institutions.[1][2]

Rothschild’s legacy is closely associated with the dance companies she founded and sustained. Batsheva became a repertory company and transitioned to public support during the 1970s, although sources date the relevant ministry support to either 1975 or 1977.[9][12] It helped foster dancers and choreographers who became significant figures in Israeli dance.[9] Bat-Dor developed as a separate company and school, combining modern dance with ballet training and acquiring works by choreographers from around the world with Rothschild’s financial backing.[12] The two institutions embodied distinct approaches and institutional histories, both shaped by her patronage.

Her influence also reached beyond the organizations she founded. The 1956 visit by Graham’s company helped direct attention in Israel toward Graham’s American modern-dance style, and Batsheva’s establishment further strengthened American dance’s influence in the country.[2][3] Through the Batsheva de Rothschild Foundation for Arts and Sciences, she also supported projects involving Hebrew translations of ancient literature, orchestral music, Israeli-designed fashion, and scientific institutions.[2] Her support for science and technology was also a purpose of two foundations she established.[1]

The archival record preserves both Rothschild’s own activity and the institutions she helped build. Her personal archive contains correspondence, photographs, interviews, documents, and memorial materials, while the Batsheva company archive preserves decades of performance and administrative records.[4][9] Batsheva initiated a project in 2012–2014 to collect, sort, and catalog its materials, and the digital archive was made available through the National Library of Israel in 2024.[9]

Rothschild died in Tel Aviv on 20 April 1999.[17] Her will, dated 30 July 1991 and supplemented on 28 July 1998, directed that about US$4.5 million go to Bat-Dor, of which she was a founder; the remainder was to go to a United States trust established in her name in 1962.[17] The bequest connected her estate to the continuing support of the dance institution she had helped create.

Several differences in the sources concern dates and accounts of institutional events rather than Rothschild’s broader role. For Batsheva, ynet dates her decision to create a company to 1963, while other accounts give 1964 for its formal establishment. These dates may distinguish the initial decision from the founding, although the accounts do not explicitly settle the question.[7][1] Bat-Dor is dated to 1967 by one reference account and to 1968 by others; the Jeannette Ordman entry distinguishes the dance school’s 1967 opening from the company’s opening in 1968.[12][13] Accounts likewise date the beginning of government support for Batsheva to either 1975 or 1977.[9][12]

Accounts also differ over Ordman’s proposed role in the 1968 dispute, describing it as rehearsal director or artistic director. Both connect the conflict with dancers’ objections and Bat-Dor’s emergence, but the descriptions come through different reported recollections.[7][15] A later 1974 dispute over whether Batsheva and Bat-Dor should be united was distinct from the earlier Ordman conflict.[15]

Most sources give Rothschild’s year of death as 1999. The Jewish Virtual Library and Encyclopedia.com list her life dates as 1914–1999.[1][5] The Jewish Women’s Archive does likewise, and Globes reports that she died in Tel Aviv on 20 April 1999.[2][17] A Jerusalem Post article gives 1998, leaving a discrepancy in that report.[14]