The Big Yiddish Dance Party returns to The Rotunda for a second year of awesome klezmer fun! ! Local klezmer Dan Blacksberg brings together some of the best voices in Yiddish music anywhere in the world to Philadelphia for a night of traditional klezmer dancing and fun. Reuniting last year's band, Blacksberg will be joined by rising klezmer clarinet star Michael Winograd, accordionist Lauren Brody, and drummer Dave Licht (Founding member of the Klezmatics). The dancing will be led by the inimitable and inviting Steve Weintraub, who recently made the move to Philadelphia. At their best, klezmer music and dance inform and feed each other to create an energetic and joyous experience. We wish to invite you in for a magical evening of wild and fun klezmer for all peoples!
Bios:
Dan Blacksberg is also one of the few musicians in the world who performs and teaches traditional klezmer on the trombone. Recognized as a master of the traditional trombone style, he can often be found performing with the field’s top artists. He is a founding member of Alan Bern’s The Other Europeans, and co-leads the klezmer power trio Leviticus with Michael Winograd and Tyshawn Sorey. He has also performed and recorded with such as Frank London, Adrienne Cooper, Michael Winograd, Daniel Kahn, and Elaine Hoffman-Watts. Dan has taught and performed in festivals all over the world, such as the Klezkamp, Klezkanada, Lowell Folk Festival, the Krakow Fesitval of Jewish Culture, and Yiddish Summer Weimar, and has been an artist-in-residence at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Clarinetist, composer, and producer Michael Winograd is one of the most sought out Klezmer musicians today. He performs internationally with his own groups, the Yiddish Art Trio (with Patrick Farrell on Accordion and Bassist/Vocalist Benjy Fox-Rosen), Tarras Band, Yiddish Princess and with Socalled, Budowitz, Frank London and others. He teaches regularly at KlezKamp, KlezKanada and other Jewish music workshops throughout North America and Europe. He has produced albums by Adrienne Cooper and Susan Leviton, and was the music director for Josh Dolgin’s Yiddish musical, Tales from Odessa. His newest album “Storm Game” was released on Golden Horn Records in 2012.
Born on Governor's Island, Bar Mitzvahed in the Bronx, and living now in Philadelphia, Steve Weintraub received his dance training in Manhattan with Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins, among others. He is in international demand as a teacher of traditional Yiddish dance at festivals and workshops including Klezkamp, Klezkanada, and festivals in Krakow, Furth, Paris and London to name a few. Steven delights in introducing people to the figures, steps and stylings of the dances that belong to Klezmer music. He has often been called the “Pied Piper of Yiddish Dance”; his years of experience leading and researching Yiddish dance allow him to quickly weave dancers and music together in astonishing ways. Young and old, from all backgrounds, find it easy to share in the joy of Yiddish dancing.
Admission is FREE