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Seeing Israeli & Jewish Dance

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of Writings

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for Voices of Sepharad

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Brin Ingber's Dance and Chorography Slide Show

 

Recent Performances, Projects, and Presentations 

V Paul Virtucio and Judith Brin Ingber at her autumn book program and signing at the Birch Bark Book Store in Minneapolis, Minnesota.



At the summer Hevreh South Berkshires book program and signing with sponsor Laurie Freedman; Jacob's Pillow archivist Norton Owen; Judith and her husband Jerome and arts patron Bruce Kelly.

Booksigning at the Birchbark Book Store, Minneapolis, MN on September 15, 2011 at 7PM. View flyer»


Wednesday evening, August 31, 2011 at 7:00pm , book signing in the beautiful Berkshire mountains at Hevreh, 270 State Rd, Great Barrington, MA 01230. View flyer


Voices of Sepharad Concert!
UNFORTUNATELY due to budget problems of the Minnesota State Legislature, Judith's appearance and the concert of Voices of Sepharad in July, 2011 had to be cancelled. There were no performances for two weeks of the MN History Center's 9 Nights series


The next reading will be at:
Birchbark Books
2115 21st Street, Minneapolis, MN 55405


At the Conney conference, Jewish Identity and the Arts, April 6-8,2011, Madison, Wisconsin, Judith presented her book "Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance," along with two authors Dawn Lille speaking on Ethiopian Jewish dance and Yehuda Hyman talking about his explorations of Hasidic dance.


Judith presented at the Ohio State University "Modern Jewish Experience Through the Lens of Dance" conference February 13-14, 2011. The Ohio State University February gathering is a two-day international conference including a matinee performance, scholarly panels and a roundtable discussion, free and open to the public. For more information and full conference schedule, visit www.meltoncenter.osu.edu.


Judith presented in New York at the SCHMOOZE Festival January 12, 2011.

At the Schmooze Festival in New York, Judith presented "Greet the day, a dance movement experience" plus a power point presentation of her forthcoming June book "Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance," with selections from the 182 remarkable dance photographs.

The SCHMOOZE Festival in January, was presented by The International Jewish Presenters Network, a new arts network linking  presenters with artists and distributors by providing tools for sharing best practices, addressing common concerns and working more economically.  The SCHMOOZE festival or the Jewish Culture Conference takes place at 155 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013, (917)-362-9013

Schmooze 11: , January 11 & 12, 2011, NYC.
For more information about joining the IJPA, visit oyhoo.com & jewishpresenters.org or contact david@oyhoo.com.


SEE Judith’s presentations in podcasts from the first Conney Conference on the Jewish arts called “Practicing Jews: Art, Identity and Culture," spring of 2007 and at the conference “Performing Histories, Inscribing Jewishness,” spring of 2009, held at the University of Wisconsin. Follow link: conneyproject.wisc.edu/2009-conference


Judith was a guest lecturer this spring at Carleton College, talking about her new book in the class "Performing Tradition in Art and Religion" taught by Shana Sipi.


92nd Street Y

JUDITH was the master of ceremonies at the special program honoring Fred Berk at the famed 92nd St Y, NYC also presenting a power point about Berk, the famed Jewish Dance Department founder
and Israeli Folk Dance Leader at the Y.

The special program included performances of Berk's dances, too for the 92nd St Y's 75th anniversary of their dance programming.

***

In 2011 the Dance Center will present Judith and her book "Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance." Write
judith@jbriningber.com for details.


The Pulse of Jewish Folk Dance
(A Sundays at Three program)  

A Tribute to Fred Berk, Founder of the Jewish Dance Division at the 92nd Street Y. was a rare opportunity to see reconstructed works by Fred Berk, the father of Israeli folk dance in America. Presented by Ruth Goodman and Danny Uziel, directors of 92Y's Israeli Dance division and the Israeli Dance Institute, the event also features Judith Brin Ingber, Livia Drapkin Vanaver, Amy Schmidt and Danny Pollock. Discussion and open dancing follows the performance.

Date & Time: Sun, Jun 20, 2010, 3:00pm
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street Directions
Venue: Buttenwieser Hall

For more info, visit the 92nd Street Y


Judith with Hannah Kramer

Judith has created a new duet "La Rosa Revisited, Yearnings" for the 9 x 22 Dance Lab in the unusual venue of the Bryant Lake Bowl cabaret on Wednesday, June 23rd at 8 PM.

She will dance the duet with Canae Weiss and then with Hannah Kramer to show differences when different dancers perform. The accompaniment is from the recording "Pasion," with singer David Harris and Scott Davies, long time collaborators with Judith from Voices of Sepharad.

Tickets go fast, so phone 612-825-8949. For more information and tickets go to www.bryantlakebowl.com

Named for the modest dimensions of the BLB stage, this exciting dance showcase features unfettered dance exploration. A discussion moderated by choreographer/curator Laurie Van Wieren follows each piece, giving audience and choreographer alike the opportunity to react and explore the work together. For more information and tickets, go to: www.bryantlakebowl.com


“Demystifying Dance Writing”: Judith returned to teach at the University of MN’s School of Journalism in the fall semester, 2009. Download the article (PDF)

credit for reproduction given by Dan Sullivan

***

Watch Judith discuss the growth of dance in Minnesota from the 1950s to today, in July's Minnesota Playlist.


Longtime local choreographer Judith Brin Ingber has made some of her most poignant work in collaboration with artists from other disciplines. She and composer Alex Lubet are behind People of the Book, an evening of performance and visual art also featuring work from Stuart Pimsler and Hmong spoken word duo Gobrosis. Ingber's artistic contribution is a new solo piece, Stepping into Heaven, inspired by a series of paintings by Georgette Sosin. 3-Minute Egg met with Ingber during a run-through of her piece. Two dance works by Judith were part of “People of the Book” presented by the Sabes Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis, January, 2010.


judith
Photograph by Bette Globus Goodman

Judith’s choreography was performed by dancer Colette Illarde [along with pieces by musicians Alex Lubet, Jim Miller, spoken Hmong word artists and fellow choreographer/performer Stuart Pimsler.] Judith is pictured here in "Stepping Into Heaven," with painter Georgette Sosin's instillation "Kaddish" as backdrop.


Judith performed, lectured and taught during “Klezmerquerque” over Presidents Day Weekend, Feb. 12-15, 2009” in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the 7th Southwest annual Klezmer music and dance festival—which included a weekend of concerts, classes and workshops with the Strauss/Warschauer Klezmer Duo. ‘Klezmer,’ a term used for both the music and dance of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe is currently enjoying a revival in the world music scene as well as in popular music and culture. Judith’s workshops included dances from the Eastern European Jewish wedding repertoire such as Rebbe Elimelech tanz and Kayzad merakdim.

The Saturday evening concert in Albuquerque included Judith’s dance “The Argument,” a modern twist about the matriarch Sara arguing with Abraham about sacrificing their son Isaac. The dance was accompanied by the chanting of  the classic biblical story by Brin Ingber’s sister Rabbi Deborah Brin, who is also the rabbi of Congregation Nahalat Shalom.

Judith’s dance “Roles Not Taken” was also on the program.  She also presented "Why Jews Aren't Just People of the Book" with rare and historic dance photos and music for Jewish dance in far-flung communities through the ages. Judith also performed the program at Dreamland Arts in St. Paul, MN in February.


Judith presented a Free afternoon show on Sat, Feb 7 at 4:00 p.m., Roles Not Taken, at Dreamland Arts, 677 Hamline Ave No., St. Paul, MN Dancer and choreographer Judith Brin Ingber presented two short performances and an illustrated presentation on Jewish dance. Roles Not Taken is a humorous, light-hearted look at musical comedy, ballet and Jewish identity. The Argument, based on the biblical matriarch Sarah, is a modern view of a classic story. The dances were followed by a powerpoint presentation about Jewish dance in communities throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East from the 14th century until today. 60 minutes.


Judith joined the James Sewell Ballet Company (JSBC) as the sausage seller in Sally Rousse’s ode to the Ballet Russses in Rousse’s fresh choreography in her new  version of “Petrouchka” for the winter JSBC season at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, MN.


Judith premiered two new dance solos in Minneapolis in the autumn of 2008:

* "Roles Not Taken," was commissioned for the 9 x 22 Dance Lab at Bryant Lake Bowl. This new solo was a collaboration with videographer Will Fehlow incorporating a humorous look at TV, musicals, classic ballet and issues of Jewish identity. 

*"Stepping into Heaven," was commissioned by the Rimon Artist Salon Series at the Basicilica of St. Mary's for an interfaith dialogue between Catholics and Jews.  Judith's new work was accompanied by Jim Miller's original live flute music.  It was inspired by “Meditations on the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer, Kaddish, and Other Work,” an art installation of Georgette Sosin. Judith’s solo took place in front of Sosin’s oils, hung in the Basilica gallery performance space.

The prestigious Spertus Museum on Michigan Ave. in Chicago presented Judith in her new multimedia lecture for the museum’s new building.  Called “A Brief History of Jewish Dance” Judith also danced and gave a short class on Jewish wedding dances on January 20, 2008 at as part of the Solomon Goldman Lecture Series.


“Through Tears to Joy”
February 17, 2008 

 
“Through Tears to Joy,” a humorous theater dance presentation on February 17, 2008, was directed and choreographed by Judith. An original take on Eastern European Jewish weddings, the cast performed at the Minneapolis Sabes JCC, featuring klezmer musician Judith Eisner with her ensemble Classic Klezmer; vocalist David Jordan Harris; storyteller Carla Vogel and 8 dancers including Judith Brin Ingber. The performances were a special event of the JCC’s Center for Arts and Jewish Humanities.


KlezKamp 2007: Meeting with Our Masters
December 23-28, 2007 

 
KlezKamp 2007: Meeting with Our Masters
, Judith Brin Ingber, as dance historian, set the stage for legendary dancer/choreographer octogenarian Felix Fibich, interviewing him over 5 workshops and helping him to stage one of his klezmer style dances. She discussed Fibich’s long and fascinating career in Europe, Russia, Israel, South America and the U.S. See www.livingtraditions.org for more information


Identity Peddlers and the Influence of Gertrud Kraus

Brin Ingber's paper, “Identity Peddlers and the Influence of Gertrud Kraus,” was presented at the international Congress on Research in Dance 2007 conference called Choreographies of Migration in New York City at Barnard College, November 8-11, 2007 (For more information, go to: www.cordance.org)

The illustrated paper presented the career of Gertud Kraus and her influence on many dancers and audiences with her own emigration escaping the Nazis  from Vienna  to Tel Aviv.  Kraus added immeasurably to the modern dance experience and to Jewish identity for more than five decades in Europe, in Palestine/Israel and in the United States. 

Download the presentation (PDF format)

View a slideshow that accompanies “Identity Peddlers and the Influence of Gertrud Kraus

See a video of Judith presenting Identity Peddlers and the Influence of Gertrud Kraus
at the University of Wisconsin.


Judith and the Middle East Civic Education Project

Judith performed on July 29,  2008 with composer/guitarist Alex Lubet on as part of an unusual concert at Sundin Music Hall on the Hamline University Campus, Saint Paul, MN. The concert was the final activity of a remarkable two week residency for educators. Every summer they come together from Israel, Jordan and Lebanon to work on curricula of tolerance for many grade levels as part of the Hamline University Middle East Civic Education Project.

Inspired by the art work and life of the Holocaust survivor Hannelore Baron, Judith and Alex's collaboration shows the effects of intolerance. The backdrop for this work is enlargements of Baron's paintings made from torn fabric remnants painted over and stitched together like bizarre flags and banners representing fractured and false nationalism.

Judith also performed in Voices of Sepharad's "Peace in the House" for the Middle East Civic Education Project in the summer of 2007 to encourage the remarkable group of educators to help them to  bring hope to the volatile region through their brave classroom plans and outreach.


Machol Europa

Judith taught for the third time at the Machol Europa 30 in the summer of 2007 at the remarkable Israeli dance festival in England. She offered special lectures on the founders of Israeli folk dance with new films she had made on her recent trip to Israel where she interviewed the still active 97 year old Yardena Cohen; and Yonaton Karmon, folk dance creator and founder of the Karmiel Festival; as well as dance leaders and creators Yoav Ashriel and Moshiko Ha-Levi. See www.idi.org.uk.


Dance Magazine

Dance Magazine recognized Judith Brin Ingber as a working Jewish choreographer in their April 2006 feature article "Yesterday and Tomorrow: Jewish Choreographers Grapple with Their Heritage." Author Shayna Samuels wrote about Judith's dance work "The Argument" and included other information about her. A photo by Paul Virtuccio is also printed in the article. See the article (.JPG file)


PEACE IN THE HOUSE

Judith performed with five other dancers and six musicians in Voices of Sepharad's theater, music and dance evening portraying the rich relationship of neighborliness between Sephardic Jews and Arabs during the last several hundred years. Seen at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, the Phipps Center in Hudson, Wisconsin and at Hamline University in St. Paul, there were many enthusiastic audiences for this big production. 

www.voicesofsepharad.com


From the Horse's Mouth, Magical Tales about Real Dancers

Click to Enlarge
From the Horse's Mouth, Magical Tales about Real Dancers

Photo by Rick Sachwitz
Click to Enlarge
From the Horse's Mouth, Magical Tales about Real Dancers

Photo by Rick Sachwitz

Judith performed Oct 27-30, 2005 at the Southern Theater in the program "From the Horse's Mouth, Magical Tales about Real Dancers," which she co-produced with the Southern.

"From the Horse's Mouth, Magical Tales about Real Dancers," is a dance/theater celebration of the exciting diversity--and rich history--of dance in Minnnesota. Through stories spoken from the stage along with the dancing, Horse's Mouth puts the spotlight on the entire spectrum of dance in this region, with dancers performing ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, percussive/tap dance and a variety of ethnic forms telling the story of who we are and how artistic expression builds community

(Judith is in the black gown, Sally Rousse wearing pointe shoes, James Sewell in shorts, next to tall Patrick Scully in the seersucker suit.)

From the Horse's Mouth
Download "From the Horse's Mouth" promotional postcard
(Acrobat PDF)


PEACE IN THE HOUSE

dClick to Enlarge
Judith in costume performing with Voices of Sepharad

Judith in costume performing with Voices of Sepharad

On Saturday, August 6, 2005, Judith danced with Voices of Sepharad, at the Bayfront Festival Park on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, MN. Also, see www.voicesofsepharad.com.


On Sunday, July 17, Judith performed at the West Bloomfield (Michigan) Jewish Community Center. She also conducted workshops for dancers. Read about her visit to
Michigan in the Detroit Jewish News (.jpg file).


Tales and Controversies

Click to Enlarge

Judith in costume with musicians Sarah
Aroeste and Yoel Ben-Simhon.

Tales and Controversies: An Evening of Sephardic Music & Dance with Judith Brin Ingber - dancer, choreographer and storyteller
Accompanied by Sephardi musicians Sarah Aroeste &Yoel Ben-Simhon
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Nicholas Hall - 85 George Street
http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu
Tuesday, February 15th 8 PM, 2005


The Argument

Click to Enlarge

Photo V. Paul Virtuco

"The Argument" performed at Daila in Jerusalem,
9 x 22 Dance Lab in Minneapolis and at Rutgers University.

Judith performed her solo dance concert at the Daila Cultural Center in Jerusalem on January 17, 2005. Her solos "Hagar's Midrash," "The Argument," and "The Comeback Performance of Bari Simon" were enjoyed by Daila's diverse audience of Arabic and Hebrew speaking young people, as well as arts patrons and political activists from a broad Israeli spectrum.

Judith participated in the popular Minneapolis cabaret "9 x 22 - A Dance Lab" on October 27, 2004 at the Bryant Lake Bowl. The evening is curated by Laurie Van Wieren, who chose Judith's piece "The Argument" for inclusion in the program.


Jewish Life in America

Saturday, November 20th, 2004, Brin Ingber presented a special lecture in conjunction with Paul Taylor's premiere at the University of Washington in Seattle, celebrating 350 years of Jewish Life in America. Her lecture was sponsored by Nextbook and the University of Washington World Dance Series. For further information, reach Michele Yanow at myanow@nextbook.org.


Hannelore

A performance with composer Alex Lubet, Judith presented a new performance piece inspired by the work of painter Hannelore Baron at the International Society for Disability Studies Bethesda, Maryland June, 2003


Lady Capulet

Brin Ingber performed the role of Lady Capulet in Romeo and dJuliet on Valentine's Day, 2003. http://www.metroballet.org

***

Festival of One Woman Shows

She also participated in the CIA (Center for Independent Artists) Festival of One Woman Shows in Minneapolis Feb. 21 and 22, 2004 with story teller Carla Vogel, the CIA theater called "The Best Theater for New Work," by City Pages of the Twin Cities, 4137 Bloomington ave. So., Mpls., dwww.c4ia.org.


THIRST!

Judith's evening called THRIST! was presented at the Southern Theater.

Click to Enlarge

THIRST! it was announced in the
Minneapolis Star Tribune!!!

In "Thirst!," we see the ancient Middle Eastern tale of Judith, a woman spurred into action against powerful, malevolent rulers, paralleling today's threaters to security. Armies surround Judith's paralyzed city and drive her to surprising solutions. The original music is composed by Michael Karmon, played live by Karmon and guest musicians from Voices of Sepharad. The dancers include Judith Brin Ingber, Joe Spencer, Robert Haarman and Canae Weiss. Canae is the first deaf dancer ever to work in the special summer workshops of American Ballet Theater; she brings an unusual sensitivity and skill to her role as the assistant to Judith.

Other Premieres

Two other premieres included "The Come Back Performance of Bari Simon," based on a true story of a Sephardic dancer extraordinaire in Jerusalem and "Shiviti: A Hebraic Mandala" showing the patterns we fail to see in our lives, to original music by Danny Maseng. Also on the program were "Hagar's Midrash, A Story," depicting the legendary Biblical story of the Egyptian concubine lost in a desert of panic.

A reprise of "These Things I Remember" showed how heirlooms tarnish in the face of exile and ignorance, starting with the Inquisition period in Spain, then moving to Morocco, Turkey, Greece during the Nazi period and today.

            

The musicians of Voices of Sepharad with David Harris as starring vocalist accompanied both "These Things I Remember" and "Hagar's Midrash, A Story."For further information you can reach Brin Ingber by email at judith@jbriningber.com or by phone at 952-920-1712.

Voices of Sepharad

Brin Ingber has choreographed and performed with the award-wining Voices of Sepharad for over 18 years. She was co-founder with vocalist David Harris and percussionist Mick LaBriola. They are joined by guitarist and 'ud player David Burk and other guest artists for full length productions, as well as residencies at universities and colleges. They have also performed in public schools, community centers, on television and in cabaret formats. Voices of Sepharad has toured widely from the Gindi Auditorium in Los Angeles to Manhattan's Danspace Project, and for three weeks in Poland (including performances at the renowned Jewish Theatre in Warsaw). Click for more details. You can also look at the company's website www.voicesofsepharad.com.

Other Dances

Her recent humorous work "Mergers and Acquisitions" has been seen at Walker Art Center(WAC) on the Choreographers Evening. This yearly series, a mainstay of the Minnesota dance scene, was originally created by Brin Ingber for WAC.

Another successful program, the full length evening piece called "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down" about Black/Jewish relations with fellow choreographer/performer Mary Easter, was also seen in Minneapolis, toured to Chicago, other sites in the mid-West including Grinnell College, and to New York.

Illustrated Dance Lectures

Judith presented a paper at the International Conference of the Congress on Research in Dance at the University of Quebec, Montreal, titled "Dancing Despite the Scourge: Jewish Dancers during The Holocaust" on November 12, 2005.

Judith presented her paper entitled "Searching for Sephardic Dance and A Fitting Accompaniment: An Historical and Personal Account," at the International Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies in Washington DC on December 18, 2005. Her paper included a personal account of her Sephardic work.

Brin Ingber also presented solo performances and illustrated talks. Saturday, November 20th, 2004, Brin Ingber presented a special lecture in conjunction with Paul Taylor's premiere at the University of Washington in Seattle, celebrating 350 years of Jewish Life in America. Her lecture was sponsored by Nextbook and the University of Washington World Dance Series. For further information, reach Michele Yanow at myanow@nextbook.org.

Last Spring, she lectured at the United Theological Seminary in Minnesota and at Am Echod Synagogue near Chicago. Her subjects include "View of Jews: the Nazis versus the Zionists" about the implications of the first 1947 Israeli folk dance company tour to the remnants of the European Jewish community in Displaced Persons camps in Europe after World War II; also, "Is Sephardic Dance Too Sexy?" which is about Sephardic communities and their dance both before and after the expulsion from Spain in 1492.

Her illustrated dance lectures were featured at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia in autumn, 2001, as part of an international conference on the Polish choreographer Jacek Luminski; at the international Israeli folk dance festival "Horati" at Hofstra University in New York; and in London at the Mahol Europa conference and at the Royal War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. She also lectured at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem in the winter of 2002; at the Israel Dance Library and at the Ga'aton Dance Center. She gave academic papers on the work of Yemenite Israeli choreographer Sara Levi-Tanai at the American Jewish Studies Conference in Washington, DC in December, 2001. In the winter of 2004 she gives an academic paper for the AJS Conference in Chicago about Jewish dancers during the Holocaust. Her paper "Is Sephardic Dance Too Sexy?" was featured at the 6th International Conference of Languages and Literatures of Sephardi and Oriental Jews in Jerusalem; and "Vilified or Glorified? Views of the Jewish Body in 1947" was selected by the Society of Dance History Scholars for the Dancing Into the Millenium conference in Washington D.C. in the summer of 2001. She spoke at the SDHS Conference at Duke University in June of 2004 about Jewish dancers from Europe in World War Two.

Whose Jewish Identity? Comments and Examples through DanceThis was a performance and lecture presented for the Graduate Colloquium in the Department of Dance at the University of California at Riverside on November 19, 2003.

Other traveling included Brin Ingber's participation in the 10th annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival in Bytom, Poland last summer. In the spring of 2003 she was seen in Vancouver, Canada on the University of British Columbia's "Arts, Education and Social Justice Series" performing with Alex Lubet. She also performed with Lubet in "Hannelore" at the Spark Festival at the University of MN School of Music. Brin Ingber was the featured dancer in Voices of Sepharad Mimouna Performance near Harford, Connecticut. She was artist-in-residence in Waukegan, IL at Congregation Am Echod where she performed and lectured

Dance Writing Workshop

at the Special Festival in Poland, Sponsored by The Silesian Dance Theater, June through July, 2003