What is the GILGUL Dance Project?

We are excited to announce a bold new contemporary dance work, “GILGUL - Transformation.” Thanks to a generous grant from the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Yiddish Summer Weimar in 2016 will host the creation of one of the world’s first major, post-WWII contemporary dance productions based on Yiddish traditional dance.

The piece will be choreographed by Steven Lee Weintraub, whom the Jewish Daily Forward called “hipster dance luminary.” Seth Rogovoy, author and director of Yidstock in the USA calls Weintraub “the world’s leading teacher and proponent of Yiddish dance.” An original live score will be created by Zillien Biret, klezmer clarinetist from Reunion Island, and Ilya Shneyveys, keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist from Riga – both important new voices in New Jewish Music.
GILGUL is a Yiddish/Hebrew word that can mean “rolling” or “transformation”, and in Jewish mysticism refers to the progression of souls into different bodies (metempsychosis). In Eastern European urban centers like Warsaw, Lodz, Odessa and Moscow, the development of an avant-garde, modernist Yiddish choreography was cut short by the Holocaust. Only now, 70 years later, are we able to re-connect with this extraordinarily rich cultural and artistic heritage, and move forward.
There will be sections of pure dance reflecting klezmer’s bittersweet longing as well as thrillingly physical rhythm. Other sections will poetically explore universal themes of identity, otherness, and community from a Jewish perspective.
The piece will run about an hour, with the option of a Yiddish dance party to follow for the audience to experience the music in their own bodies. Starting in August 2016, “GILGUL - Transformation” is available to travel to festivals and other venues.

For further information: Andreas Schmitges, email: Schmitges@aol.com, Phone: +49 177 6017686 back