Leah Bergstein (October 23, 1902 - 1989; Hebrew: לאה ברגשטיין) of Galician Jews origin was among the first choreographers in Mandatory Palestine who created festival dances at kibbutzim.

She was also impressed by Laban's efforts to reimagine folk festivals, in reaction to its seeming decline, to enable people without prior technical knowledge to perform dances as a way of celebrating and expressing joy.

With the rise of anti-Semitism, however, Bergstein heard people comment on her Jewish surname and decided to give up her career as a professional dancer to emigrate to Palestine.

Despite the demanding and constricting responsibilities for their gender, women dance leaders' artistic contributions, including those of Bergstein, were seen as secondary in the Zionist movement.

[2] The members of Kibbutz Beit Alfa began to learn about sheepherding and shearing from the surrounding Bedouin encampments and extended mutual invitations to festivals and other celebrations.

Bergstein planned the festive event to accompany the shearing process, including songs and stories composed by the shepherds and performed for the kibbutz audience.

[4] The festival initiated Bergstein's collaboration with Polish-born poet-composer Mattityahu Shelem and marked the first nature celebration of the labor settlement movement containing a choreographic element.

Since no ancient dances had survived among the Jewish people, Bergstein and Shelem were committed to cultural creation as a means of building the national and societal identity of the country of Israel.

[1] Bergstein choreographed 51 festival dances, including "Rov Berakhot" (Many Blessings), "Hen Yeronan" (Thus shall we rejoice), "Shibbolet ba-Sadeh" (A Sheaf in the Field) and "Shiru ha-Shir" (Sing the Song).

[1] Bergstein said that she choreographed folk dances "to enhance the spirit of our holidays, to be merry with my group in the evenings, to give a kind of coherence to the kibbutz despite the range in ages from children to grandparents," and to tell a story.

Following this transmission, Bergstein would ask the amateur kibbutz members whether they found the dance comfortable and enjoyable so that she could ensure a clear connection between form and content.

[4] Celebrated on Passover eve, the Omer harvest festival, revived by Bergstein and Shelem at Ramat Yohanan, commemorated the ancient ritual cutting of the wheat.

[1] Building upon the traditions of ancient ceremonies, Bergstein and Shelem added dances and songs to the old material, expanding the festivities to reflect contemporary values.

Bergstein's choreography included a dance with pitchers, and rousing wine-dance, and the heroic debka to Shelem's song "Livshu-na Oz" (Put On Strength).

The festival began with Bergstein's dance "Kumu v’Na’ale" (Let Us Arise and Ascend), which depicted the pilgrimage of the Jews who brought the Bikkurim to the steps of the Temple.

[3] Bergstein founded the Ramat Yohanan Dance Troupe for a group of young girls, who performed for soldiers during the War of Independence, at the folk-dance festivals on Kibbutz Dalia, and for the State of Israel's tenth anniversary.

She is part of a lineage of dancers and choreographers, including Gurit Kadman, Rivka Sturman, Sara Levi-Tanai, Yardena Cohen, Tirza Hodes, Shalom Hermon, Yoav Ashriel, Yonatan Karmon, and Moshiko (Moshe Itzhak-Halevy).