Gestures of Sand explores the unique artistry of Margalit Oved – the legendary dancer, musician, actress, and choreographer. The film documents the music, movement, ritual, and myth which were an integral part of the culture of the Jews of Aden, Yemen. Aden was once the central port on the ancient trading routes between India, Africa, and Spain. In this film, Margalit Oved recreates the characters, dances, and chants from the wedding rituals of the Yemenite Jews as well as characterizations of the Queen of Sheba, the Prophetess Deborah, and Rachel the Mother of Mothers. ‘Gestures of Sand’ was directed by Allegra Fuller Snyder, daughter of Buckminster Fuller, and was made possible with the support of the UCLA Department of Dance and the Ford Foundation.
18 min. black and white; 16 mm. hebrew subtitles
Margalit Oved
Born in the British Protectorate of Aden, Margalit Oved was the star dancer of the Inbal Dance Theater Company for fifteen years where she toured throughout the world, performing in such places as the Martin Beck Theater on Broadway, the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris, Her Majesty’s Theatre in Australia and La Scala de Milano. In 1965, Margalit married her husband, Mel Marshall, and moved to Los Angeles where she taught as a professor of contemporary dance at the UCLA Dance Department, for twenty-two years. With backing from the National Endowment for the Arts, Margalit founded her own dance company, which toured extensively to rave reviews throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. In 1994, she became artistic director of the Inbal Dance Theatre Company. She has also appeared as a guest artist in several of her son’s works including both with his own company, the Batsheva Dance Company as well as many other productions. In 2001, Ohad Naharin invited her to perform alongside Nikolas Eck and Anna Laguna in his production LOL. Her work as an actress includes a starring role in the first feature film ever produced in Israel, “Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer” (1955) which was presented at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival as well as appearing alongside Max Von Sydow in George Steven’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965). Margalit is the recipient of the Myrtle Wreath Award for her contribution to the arts as well as the 2009 Creative Capital Grant. As a vocalist, she has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and has recorded a solo album for Folkways Records. Her work in dance is the subject of a Ford Foundation documentary film entitled Gestures of Sand.
Allegra Fuller Snyder
The daughter of noted architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller, Allegra Fuller Snyder was an American dance ethnochoreologist, choreographer, professor, and author specializing in dance and culture. As Professor Emerita of dance ethnology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Snyder pioneered the field of Dance Ethnography, and defined a dance ethnologist as “…one who is concerned with studying the process of dance in culture.” An early advocate of dance preservation on film, Snyder and her husband, documentarian Robert Snyder, produced numerous films including a historical film about Mary Wigman and the performance dance film “Gestures of Sand” about Margalit Oved. She was the founder and first president of the Buckminster Fuller Institute.
