Gene Hill Sagan

Gene Hill Sagan (1936-1991)

Dancer and choreographer. Born in Emporia, VA, he studied painting and sculpture and thanks to a scholarship, he moved to New York where he studied dance with Maria Nevelska to become one of the first Afro-American dancers specializing in classical ballet. In 1959, he joined Ballet Americana, the first black classical ballet company in the US. In 1960 he moved to Europe and danced mainly in Germany, where he established a company of his own, for which he choreographed his first dance in 1963.
In 1966 Hill Sagan visited Israel for the first time and became a close friend of Gertrud Kraus. He decided to settle here, established an independent company, and also choreographed for the Israeli Ballet, Bat-Dor, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC), and Batsheva Dance Company. He created the following dances for Batsheva: The Burning Ground (1975), Fiery Chariot (1976), The Garden of Kali (1977), Sigh (1983), Suite en bleu (1985), and Lelio (1987).
In 1976, Hill Sagan was invited to return to the US and choreograph for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. On that same year, he was also invited to Philadelphia to choreograph for PHILADANCO, and quickly became its resident choreographer and worked there until his death. Throughout his 15 years with the company, he created 12 dances which are performed to this day. He also made a habit of visiting Israel every two years and choreographed for local and international dance companies.

Gene Hill Sagan passed away in 1991. At his request, his ashes were deposited in the courtyard of the KCDC center in Kibbutz Ga’aton.