RE: Music for Older Kids (and adults)

[Rachel Gurevitz <rgurevit...>]

Rich,

Lots of agreement on your points about movement with the songs and prayers.
 I'll let Jess speak for herself - I'm sure she'll have something to say on
this - she has already done 'Move to a Jewish Groove' sessions here in the
UK, and anyone seeing her dance at Hava Nashira knows about that.

I think it's especially great that you're creating some new Jewish music to
take forward these ideas.  I've found that one of the problems in the
progressive UK movement (apart from the fact that we're uptight Brits), is
that much of the music, especially the C19th Lewandowski stuff just isn't
made for movement.  I've been working with a lot of chassidic niggunim and
Renewal chants, and once you're swept up in those you can't help yourself
but get up and dance or move to the music.  We also have a lot that we can
learn from our Sufi brothers and sisters on this one - I was recently at a
dhika at an interfaith conference in Germany and a free movement set of
workshops taught by one of their leaders, and there lots of links in terms
of our prayers and our music, but they know a thing or two about rhythm and
movement.

I'd love to hear your stuff (and dance to it!) at H.N.

Rachel G