Noa Eshkol

Noa Eshkol (; 28 February 1924 – 14 October 2007) was an Israeli dance composer and textile artist. Eshkol is best known for her co-invention, alongside architect Avraham Wachman, of the Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN) System. She and Wachman worked together for over two decades to refine the system and develop its various applications.

In addition to her dance work, Eshkol was known for her "wall carpets" which she began creating in the early 1970s. She also found the Noa Eshkol Chamber Group and was granted a professorship in the Tel Aviv University in 1972.

Early life and education She was born on 28 February 1924 in Deganya Bet to Jewish immigrants from Russian Empire Rivka Maharshek and Levi Eshkol, who later became the 3rd Prime Minister of Israel. Her parents divorced soon after her birth, and she moved with her mother to Tel Aviv.

Noa attended the School for Workers' Children in Tel Aviv with classmates such as Yaakov Rechter and Haim Ben Dor.

Career Initial Training At the age of 18, Eshkol joined the British Army and served as a driver during World War II. During her time at school, Eshkol was introduced to Labanotation, a movement notation system developed by Rudolf von Laban. Upon Rössler's motivation, she traveled to Manchester, and received training from Laban himself at the Art of Movement Studio. Eshkol also had the opportunity to study at the Sigurd Leeder School of Modern Dance in London while she was in the UK.

Eshkol-Wachman movement notation In 1954, Eshkol collaborated with architect Avraham Wachman to develop and utilize the Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation system (EWMN). This notation system allows for the recording of limb movements, enabling choreographies and movements to be documented in a manner similar to musical scores.

Chamber Dance Group Eshkol established a chamber dance group in which she not only composed dance compositions using her notation system but also danced in the group's early years alongside Naomi Polani and Mirele Sharon. Her choreography required her dancers to adjust to minimalism and to understand her notation system. Outside of the studio, Eshkol was interested in literature and studied geometric structures, numerical series, and the connection between form and system. Her works were influenced by cultural and scientific advances of the time, such as the invention of computers, electronic music, and robotics, as well as the focus on NASA.

Textile art Eshkol took a break from dancing and began creating wall carpets in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.

Death Eshkol Passed away on October 14, 2007, at the age of 83 at her home in Holon.

American artist Sharon Lockhart created a series of works in 2011 based on the dances created by Eshkol. Lockhart discovered Eshkol's work during a research trip sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles's Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership. She collaborated with dancers from the Noa Eshkol Chamber Dance Group, some of whom had worked with Eshkol herself to document Eshkol's compositions on film for her works Five Dances and Nine Wall Carpets by Noa Eshkol and Four Exercises in Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation.

Despite her contributions to the field, Eshkol never identified herself as a choreographer and declined to accept awards such as the Israel Prize and the Histadrut Prize for Lifetime Achievement.