Re: Yiddish folk dancing on campus

[Michel Borzykowski <borzykowski...>]

Dear Ari, Helen and all,

Yiddish dancing is a very actual topic for me and the Jewish Music Lovers 
Association (AMJ).
I forward the announcement -sorry! in French- for a Yiddish (not Israeli !) 
dance session we're organizing in Geneva, Switzerland. 

The crew wasn't convinced that it would be of interest for Swiss people, but as 
I enjoyed it very much in London with Zev Feldman and Michael Alpert, we 
decided to make it anyway.

As we promoted it very 'softly', we were expecting 8 to 10 people... but we are 
already 34 and the session will only be in 2 weeks! 

I didn't check it carefully but assume that the Jews/Goyim ratio is about 50/50.

I'll let you know after how it was!

Michal
borzykowski (at) infomaniak(dot)ch 
Homepage AMJ: http://www.club-association.ch/amj
Geneva klezmer page: http://borzykowski.users.ch
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L'Association des Amis de la Musique Juive (AMJ) organise un stage de danses 
yiddish le dimanche 25 mai 2003, de 10h à 18h30.

Il est destine aux femmes et aux hommes de tous niveaux et se deroulera dans la 
salle de ballet de l'ERA, 8 rue Charles Bonnet, Genève.

Le but est de decouvrir les rythmes et de pratiquer les diverses danses 
traditionnelles utilisees comme modes d'expression corporelle joyeux lors des 
mariages et autres fetes par les Juifs d'Europe de l'Est au 19eme et dans la 
première moitie du 20eme siecle: Hora roumaine, Freylekh, Sher, Bulgar, Patsh 
tants...

Il ne s'agit donc pas de danses folkloriques israeliennes modernes, ni de 
choregraphies complexes à la façon de 'Rabbi Jacob'...

L'animatrice sera Khayele Domergue-Zilberberg, eleve de Michael Alpert et Zev 
Feldman, qui viendra de Nimes pour la circonstance.
...
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ari Davidow 
  To: World music from a Jewish slant 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 5:20 PM
  Subject: Yiddish folk dancing on campus


  There was recently a klezmer concert/dance here at Tufts, so I asked Michael 
McLaughlin, the band teacher, what he saw. The results are posted on the 
KlezmerShack (try http://www.klezmershack.com/archives/000150.html if it's not 
visible on the main page). 

  What I'm wondering, based on recent comments made to me in private, and to 
the list, is whether there is noticable interest in Yiddish folk dancing, 
compared to interest in Israeli dancing. Here in the Boston area, for instance, 
you can do English Country Dance or Contradance, almost any night of the week. 
You can dance to Balkan music almost as frequently. Israeli folk dancing is 
held regularly at MIT and I believe, at least one other location. Yiddish 
dancing? Not on most calendars. And it isn't clear to me that when such an 
event is held, many Jews show up--it =does= seem like the sort of thing that 
attracts some non-Jews who love any international folk dance more than, say, 
Jews.

  Ari Davidow
  ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
  list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
  the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/