|
| Those
of you who love to sing, but didn't make it to any of our three Yiddish
sing-alongs, missed a real treat! Getting together in private homes
(Berkeley and San Francisco in April, Mountain View in May), we enjoyed
a wonderful opportunity to sing old favorites, learn some new songs,
and get to know others who love Yiddish. With singing led by Judy
Kunofsky, Mitchell Shandling, and Elaine Moise, the groups spent two
hours singing, telling stories, and - of course - eating. These events grew out of KlezCalifornia's
"Khevruse* Directory" (* activity partner). The directory provides a
way for you to indicate how you would like to participate in Yiddish
culture, and find others with similar interests. If
you want to connect with others who speak Yiddish, form a klezmer band,
read Yiddish literature, dance, sing, etc., then sign up for the
Khevruse Directory by clicking HERE. You
can also indicate interests by "updating your profile" with the link at
very bottom of this newsletter. (The difference is that if you sign up
for the Khevruse Directory, we will send you a list
of all the others who have signed up so you can make your own
connections.) We are hoping to put together more such events later this
year, and to publicize events that you put together! Meanwhile, we
hope you find these upcoming events of interest. |
| This Sunday: Tikkun Leyl Shevuot -- with Sholom Aleichem |  Come
for an all night study session with the cream of the crop of Bay Area
Jewish teachers. This extraordinary event is the only one of its kind
in the country, bringing together the entire East Bay Jewish community.
Workshops and services are led by orthodox, conservative, reform, and
renewal congregations, and other Jewish organizations ranging from
social justice groups to educators and cultural presenters. KlezCalifornia is one of the co-sponsors. For details of the full program, check the JCC East Bay website. This year, Mitchell Shandling and Harvey Varga will present Grins af Sheviyes (Greens for Shevuot), another Sheviyes mayseh fun Sholem Aleykhem, with an English rendition. Their performance last year of his Milkhigs af Sheviyes was met with wild acclaim, drew an unexpectedly large audience, and provoked quite a simkha. Mitchell was even inspired to think about a future "act" of Yiddish song and story performances. ----6:45pm thru dawn on Monday, June 9th 1414 Walnut Street
"Grins af Sheviyes" - 11:30pm-12:30am Berkeley, CA 94709
Free and open to the public
|
| June 15 - Klezmorim in Burlingame |  Naomi Zamir and Friends will play for dancing and listening at the YaYa Cuisine restaurant in Burlingame on Sunday, June 15 from 6:30 to 9:00pm. Her program includes vibrant melodies, dances and songs from the Yiddish klezmer tradition. Bruce Bierman, Yiddish and Israeli dance teacher, will lead (and show) how easy it is to dance to klezmer tunes.
YaYa
Cuisine restaurant recently opened at this new location in downtown
Burlingame, across the street from the train station. Its
Mesopotamian-Californian menu of seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes is
varied and satisfying. There is a full bar and interesting wine list -
all reasonably priced. Come and join us for a freylakhn evening of
music, food, dance and friends.
Yaya Cuisine
1108 Burlingame Ave
at California Drive (near the train station)
Burlingame - 650-344-2860 (for reservations) |
| June 24 to August 12: Klezmer Ensemble Workshop |  Want
to cut your klezmer chops with an ensemble? Seasoned teacher Dave
Rosenfeld will teach all levels of musicians the art and joy of playing
together in a band. Rosenfeld has successfully taught this course at
both the Peninsula JCC, the Albert Shultz JCC, and the JCC East Bay.
He is a multi-instrumentalist, ethnomusicologist, and composer who has
been playing stringed instruments for over 25 years, and teaching for
almost as long.
Tuesdays, June 24-August 12; 7:30-9:00pm
$100 general, $80 members
Classes held at the JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley, CA 94709.
Call 510-848-0237 to register
|
| June 29 - The Freylech: Dance Parties at the JCC |  Get ready to stomp, shvitz and boogie down for an evening of Yiddish dancing led by master dance leader Bruce Bierman. Some of the Bay Area's best klezmer groups will perform live music for all ages. The Jewish Dance Theatre,
directed by Bruce Bierman, is now an artistic company in residence at
the JCC East Bay. Bruce will lead dance classes pulling from different
Jewish traditions, and the JDT will host monthly dance parties at the
JCC throughout the course of the summer. Look forward to a slate of
stellar fall productions from this ensemble. Co-presented by KlezCalifornia and the Jewish Music Festival. For complete details, click HERE.
Sundays June 29, July 27, August 31 JCC of the East Bay
Dance lesson: 7:00-8:00pm 1414 Walnut Street
Live music/group dance: 8:00-10:00pm Berkeley, CA 94709
$10/evening |
| July 15: Messiahs of 1933 -- A talk with Joel Schechter |  Joel
Schechter rediscovers the funny and often politically-charged plays of
1930s American Yiddish theatre in his book Messiahs of 1933,
celebrating their satire, radical imagination and commitment to social
change. He broadens our understanding by examining the innovative stage
performances of the Artef collective, the Modicut puppeteers, and the
Yiddish Unit of the Federal Theatre Project as well as popular 1930s
actors such as Leo Fuchs, Menasha Skulnik and Yetta Zwerling.
Professor
of Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University, Joel Schechter has
written a number of books about satirists and circus clowns, and
created a series of comic strips with the illustrator Spain. A book
signing will follow this talk.
Co-Presented by the San Francisco State Department of Theatre Arts and the Bureau of Jewish Education Community Library
Tuesday July 15, 7:30pm; Free
JCC of the East Bay
1414 Walnut Street,
Berkeley, CA 94709 |
|
| | |
|
|
|
