Yacov Sharir

Yacov Sharir (1940-2023)

Born in Casablanca, he immigrated to Israel with his family as a child. He graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design’s Department of Ceramic Design and Glass Sculpture. He then continued his studies at the Jerusalem Music and Dance Academy under Hasia Levi Agron, as well as with Gertrud Kraus. During the 1960s, he was active both as a ceramics artist and as a dancer in Inbal Dance-Theater. In 1967, he joined Batsheva where he danced until 1975. His dances with the company included Adam & Eve (1965); By Order of Creon (1966); The Act, Reflections, Shore Bourne (1967); Rehearsal!… (?), The Road of the Phoebe Snow, Come and Get the Beauty of It while It’s Hot, The Brood (1968); Baroque Concerto No. 5, Moves (1969); Ein Dor, Percussion Concerto (1970); Martha’s Vineyard,  Ami-Yam Ami-Ya’ar (Song of My People – Forest People), Pace & Step Together, Ebony Concerto (1971). In addition, he designed outfits and sets for Batsheva for the dance pieces Voices from a Far Place, Martha’s Vineyard, and Ami-Yam Ami-Ya’ar (Song of My People – Forest People), all in 1971.

In 1975, Sharir left Batsheva to join Moshe Efrati’s Kol Demama (“sound of silence”). In 1975, after the company’s tour in the US, he was invited to teach in Austin, Texas, where he formed a company. He continued to choreograph and teach at the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Theater and Dance. During those years, he was invited to choreograph for the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, the Israeli Ballet Company and Batsheva, for which he created Great Variation (1977) and Giant Steps (1981), works in which he also designed the sets and outfits.

Since 1980, Sharir has been working on integrating computer technologies in dance. Widely considered a trailblazer in this area, he is invited to teach and create worldwide. He also won many awards, including the 1995-96 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Award, the 1997 Virtual Reality & Cyberspace in the Arts Award, and the 1998 Career Research Excellence Award in the Robert W. Hamilton Faculty Authors Award competition at The University of Texas at Austin.