Yiddish Dance Symposium, Welcome
Welcome: Michael, Zev, Barbara
Notes are much paraphrased. So, what I write is what I interpret and may not be quite what the speaker's intended. Apologies. Where the mistakes are egregious, I hope people will let me know so that the record can be corrected.
BKG (moderator): A landmark day focused entirely on Yiddish Dance
Zev: It is not easy being a self-researcher--studying the tradition that you, yourself practice. When I started studying klezmer music 30 years ago, we were sceptical. Then Mark Slobin, with whom I studied, spoke of revivalization, not just revival--that klezmer music was meeting some needs within the Jewish community and wasn't just reviving for a short time, but was becoming an evolving part of the Jewish community again. Now, I look at Yiddish Dance I wonder if the same may be true. [Gives example from his own research with the community we know as "whirling dervishes" in Greece.]
Meyshke: This event began as a gleam in the eye of myself and Erik Bendix 10-15 years ago. Today is an attempt to raise questions and see where we are. [repeats in Yiddish, then breaks into song to convey the excitement and ceremony.