Past Performances, Residencies and Presentations
2022
CHOREOGRAPHERS' EVENING AT WALKER ART CENTER, Nov. 26, 2022
Judith Brin Ingber at the first Choreographers' Evening at the Walker Art Center, 1971.
Photo by Alan Friedman. TO SEE HER DANCE "I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY" click here. She restaged it for a more recent Choreographers' Evening with dancer Megan McClellan and musician Jim Miller.
How did she conceive what was needed for the MN community that still has relevance today? Judith wrote about the creation of the program with Walker’s Suzanne Weil in her article for the MN Dance Alliance Newsletter. Read the article
Philip Bither, Performing Arts Curator of Walker Art Center, toasting Judith and the Choreographers' Evening.
Click to read what Judith said as she toasted the MN Dance community
JUDITH ON LEFT WITH THE DANCERS AND CO-CURATORS of the 2022 Choreographers' Evening, 50 years after Judith began the program. It's the annual staple of MN dance, featured at Walker Art Center.
2021
Judith's Donation
For the Dance Library of Israel, Judith donated the contents of a 50 pound suitcase on her recent trip to Tel Aviv. It included her research notes, files, memorabilia, photos and books on dance in Israel covering her 50 years of work. She is seen above in the Tel Aviv plaza before meeting the director of the library, Victoria Khodorkovsky. The library immediately created archival files , joining others in the Judith Brin Ingber archives at the library.
50 years of work in 50lbs.
Judith danced in last summer's multi-generational cast of twenty-six of the Twin Cities most vibrant dancers in "LDV", choreographed by Berit Ahlgren and Helen Hatch. The outdoor premiere was seen August 7 and 8, 2021 at The Shed, a zany, colorful epic piece, undercut by sinister and cunning moments that ultimately color life, inspired by, and set to the soundtrack of Federico Fellini's 1960 film 'La Dolce Vita'.
Photo by Larry Risser
Photo by Linda Passon
In addition to dancing in "LDV" Judith performed in the new duet she choreographed called, "Number Our Days" danced by Judith and Stephanie Fellner Grey, to traditional music arranged by flutist Jim Miller.
Duet Photos by Larry Risser
REGARDING 'NUMBER OUR DAYS'
The producer/choreographers of "LDV", Helen Hatch and Berit Ahlgren generously announced to the cast that if anyone had dance works they wanted to show during the five performances of "LDV" we were invited to contact them. Many did--for each of the five shows of "LDV" there were four new works also shown, mine at 5:30PM on Aug. 7 and again at the 5:30 show on August 8. I was so struck how easy Helen and Behrit made it for dancers to show their new work. It wasn't like that when I was a young dancer so I decided the others in the cast should learn my story about the very first time I dared to rock the boat and how long ago was that? Here is what I wrote so those in the cast of 26 and others can know our history
Go to Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance for information on Judith's book presentations and programs. Click here to view an interview with Judith about her book conducted by The Jewish Daily Forward and see dozens of the extraordinary photos accompanying the different book chapters.
Longtime choreographer/dancer Judith Brin Ingber has created solo and some group dance programs of her own works. They have been seen in Minnesota venues including the Walker Art Center, the Southern Theater, the Bryant Lake Bowl 9x22 Cabaret, the Center for Independent Artists, Dreamland Arts, both the Minneapolis Jewish Community Center and the St. Paul Jewish Community Center, and synagogues in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Duluth plus on tour throughout the US and in Israel.
In addition to her solo shows she has collaborated with other artists including choreographers/dancers Sally Rousse and Mary Easter, painter/sculptor Georgette Sosin and musicians David Jordan Harris, Alex Lubet and Jim Miller.
See Voices of Sepharad.
"Mr. Gaga" is the award winning bio-pic about international dancer Ohad Naharin. It can still be seen at film festivals, though it is a while since Judith introduced the film at the Palm Springs Jewish Film Festival. Below are photos from her introduction, plus rare out-takes from "Mr. Gaga" given to her by its filmmaker Barak Heymann. They show more of Judith's comments about teaching star Ohad Naharin in the early 1970s when he was a soldier in the Israeli army and studying dance with Judith.
Judith talking about "Mr. Gaga" after recent Palm Springs, CA film festival showing. Photos by Arlene Karno.
To view a 3-minute clip of Judith speaking about Ohad, click here.
2020
In the autumn of 2020, Judith Brin Ingber participated in a special virtual panel ]about the iconic Yiddish film The Dybbuk, Between Two Worlds, screened at the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. Courtesy of the festival, here is a rare opportunity to see the dance clip discussed by Brin Ingber.
The iconic moment of Judith Berg dancing as death (in stripes and masked) behind the bride in the 1937 film “The Dybbuk"
The film includes dancer choreographer Judith Berg along with major Yiddish theatre, music and dance artists active in 1937 Warsaw before the Holocaust. See Berg’s choreography and dancing as Death, accompanying the ill-fated bride. Comments about the dance clip (seen about 5 minutes into the link) and remarks about Berg’s Expressionist dance work by Judith Brin Ingber in the post-screening conversation are linked here. She is part of the the conversation with the two experts who restored the film, Sharon and Lisa Rivo, of the National Center for Jewish Film. The Dance Clip and Post-Film Conversation are courtesy of the Twin Cities Virtual Jewish Film Festival.
2019
Judith’s latest dance was part of City Pages’ Best Performance of 2019.
Link to the article on City Pages
Judith’s new trio, WHERE?, featured dancers Susana di Palma (in fez on left), Judith (center) and Rahila Coates (right). Projected behind the trio was an actual historic Masonic backdrop of Solomon's Temple [Top photo courtesy of Lance Brockman and the Performing Arts Archives of the University of MN].
[Photos by Larry Risser]
Judith's dance WHERE? on the main floor, began the whole extraordinary event. One could hear the mystical musical accompaniment to WHERE? on the first floor, composed by flutist Jim Miller based on the ancient chant of Solomon's Song of Songs.
Click image to see a larger version.
In conjunction with the conference, Judith and Naomi Jackson co-curated “Reimagining Communities Through Dance”, a large wall exhibit with books and memorabilia at Noble Library, ASU. Click to view the panels. If you are interested in re-mounting exhibition, contact naomi.jackson@asu.edu
Judith at Conney Conference on Jewish Arts at the famed 92Y, NYC, March 31-April 3, 2019
On April 1 of the Conference, Judith started off the evening program with stories and visuals to introduce Fred Berk and his seminal role at the 92Y. Berk created the Jewish Dance Center highlighting Israeli folk dance and performances. The evening program continued with current 92Y Israeli folk dance directors Ruth Goodman and Danny Uziel also speaking and leading important Israeli folk dances. The Dance Workshop, initiated by Judith at THE first Conney conference in 2007, brought in choreographers and dancers new to the workshop this year. She organized it and taught one of the sessions along with Ze’eva Cohen, and both Hannah Swadron and Rebecca Pappas who shared the first session.
2018
Judith’s dance “WHERE?” was part of ICON SAM: Temple Dances, June 14-June 24, 2018, at the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts, 528 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, The roaming show featured choreography by award-winning local dancemakers Wynn Fricke, HIJACK, Lise Houlton, Judih Howard, Judith Brin Ingber, Sally Rousse, and others. ICON SAM: Temple Dances was a traveling experience throughout the eight marbled floors of the historic Mason’s Temple, now part of the Cowles Center.
ICON SAM: Temple Dances
"Thank you, CityPages and the 50 artists who made ICON SAM with me— I share this honor with you." – Sally Rousse
By moving off the traditional concert stage and out of her pointe shoes, Sally Rousse (a ballerina and co-founder of James Sewell Ballet) has been choreographing deep dives into space and place, immersing guests in site-based works that enlighten and delight. Her biggest, boldest initiative to date was ICON SAM, which took place throughout the historic Hennepin Center for the Arts, including all its nooks and crannies, stairwells, and hidden rooms. The title is an anagram for “masonic,” as the 1888 building began its life as a temple for the secret society. Using dance, spoken text, and set pieces, all performed by a who’s who of Twin Cities artists, Rousse orchestrated a symphony of revelatory histories with humor and humanity. Content source: City Pages
Judith’s new trio, WHERE?, featured dancers Susana di Palma (in fez on left), Judith (center) and Rahila Coates (right). Projected behind the trio was an actual historic Masonic backdrop of Solomon's Temple [Top photo courtesy of Lance Brockman and the Performing Arts Archives of the University of MN].
[Photos by Larry Risser]
Judith's new trio, WHERE?, was seen in a remarkable 11 performance series ICON SAM TEMPLE DANCES produced by artist-in-residence Sally Rousse in downtown Minneapolis. The performances in the 1888 historic Masonic Temple (now known as the Hennepin Center for the Arts) took place in a "hysterical historic romp" Rousse said, through the alley, studios, hallways, old wrought iron curving staircase, elevators, conference rooms as well as the building's two proscenium theatres. To see the works by 8 different choreographers, audiences took simultaneous tours with 3 different guides throughout the historic 8 floor building. Judith's dance WHERE? on the main floor, began the whole extraordinary event. One could hear the mystical musical accompaniment to WHERE? on the first floor, composed by flutist Jim Miller based on the ancient chant of Solomon's Song of Songs.
THE JEWS AND JEWISHNESS IN THE DANCE WORLD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE WAS HELD AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.
Special Citation awarded Judith Brin Ingber as ground breaking scholar in Jewish and Israeli Dance at Arizona State University Conference “Jews and Jewishness In the Dance World”.
Judith holding Havdallah candle with Rabbi Diane Elliot before award, at opening of conference.
THE "Jews and Jewishness in the Dance World" international conference featured the exhibition Reimagining Communities Through Dance, with over 100 photographs, books and ephemera, co-curated by Judith Brin Ingber and Naomi Jackson.
The exhibition was held at ASU's Noble Science Library, Second Floor, occupying two walls, (39 feet and 9 feet) of the Library, featuring traditional dance in Jewish communities through historic and contemporary photos of Jewish and Israeli choreographers plus many books, record covers and objects in three tall glass vitrines.
LIZ LERMAN, left, Co-director of Conference, with Judith at her book talk.
Naomi Jackson, left, co-director of conference with Judith before her special award at the Havdallah Service at beginning of Conference.exhibition co-curated by Judith and Naomi Jackson
Link to "Jews and Jewishness in the Dance World" Program Program
As part of the pre-conference activities at the "Jews and Jewishness in the Dance World" international Conference at Arizona State University, Judith spoke about her book “Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance” on October 11, 2018 at the Changing Hands Bookstore, Phoenix, Arizona.
2017
Judith presented "Myopic or Blind?" a keynote address for the Conney Conference on Jewish Arts at the University of Wisconsin. The Conference, which brought artists and scholars together April 19-21, 2017, was titled “50 Years After Harold Rosenberg: Is There a Jewish Art (Yet?)". See: https://conneyproject.wisc.edu/videos-2017/.
Henia Rottenberg, director of the dance program at Western Galilee College again invited Judith to teach for the fifth year in a row when she was in Israel in December, 2017. She taught a combined Theatre Arts and Dance class and addressed the dance seminar class. Many in the college are the first in their families to go to college, some from small Galilee Muslim Arab villages, or Catholic Arab neighborhoods, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish families and students from new Russian Jewish immigrant families. To inform the students how dance in the Israeli communities have developed Judith discussed and taught Dabkot variations, and Israeli folk dances from the 1920’s and 1940’s including “Hora Agadati” and “Mayim Mayim.” The students had a great time also learning about Tel Aviv theatre history and dance, with details of choreographer Baruch Agadati working with the HaPoel Theater company, plus other points about Arab village dance and Israeli folk dance history . With such enthusiasm, the students learned the dances and then created their own variations combining elements from Arab and Jewish Israeli cultures.
credit: WESTERN GALILEE COLLEGE Public Relations Department
Judith helped direct a special day on Jewish dance at the Ohio State University during the combined Society of Dance History and Congress on Research in Dance conference Oct. 19-22, 2017. Under the direction of Hannah Kosstrin (who holds a double appointment in dance and Jewish Studies at the Ohio State University), there was a focus on Jewish dance presentations and panels with scholar/dancers Rebecca Pappas, Hannah Schwadron, Rebecca Rossen, Janice Ross, Einav Katan-Schmid and others. Judith also organized a pop-up book exhibit of recently published books on the subject including Kosstrin’s new Oxford University Press “Honest Bodies” about Anna Sokolow.
Judith Brin Ingber between Luba Claus from Berlin, left, and Ann Don, from Amsterdam, right, participants in the 30 strong dance workshop for Yiddish Summer Weimar Festival 2017 international festival.
Judith taught at the international YIDDISH SUMMER WEIMAR 2017 Festival held in Weimar, Germany, August, 2017. The special topic was "The Other Israel" with Judith lecturing on Israeli folk dance development, including ideas about the interplay between Arab traditional Dabke and Debkot plus teaching two dance workshops daily on Israeli folk dance from the 1920s-1950s. Medhat Aldabaal, Jill Gellerman and Andreas Schmitges also taught in the intensely exciting dance work culminating in a public showing. Medhat, a Druze Syrian refugee living and dancing in Germany, taught Dabke wedding village dance; Jill Gellerman taught both Hasidic men’s and women’s dances, pointing out their interplay with Israeli folk dance; Andreas Schmitges taught Yiddish dances including Gurit Kadman’s version of the sherele. For additional information see http://yiddishsummer.eu.
Teachers included Judith Brin Ingber, Medhat Aldabaai, Jill Gellerman and Andreas Schmitges. For additional information see http://yiddishsummer.eu.
Orly Portal's "Swiria," created in Israel last winter would have been considered too folkloristic, along with Sara Levi-Tanai's work of old. Judith reconsiders them in her Conney Conference keynote.
Judith presented the keynote address, 50 Years After Harold Rosenberg: Is there a Jewish Art (Yet?), at the recent Conney Jewish Arts Conference, April 19-21, 2017 at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison.
Judith's video of the solo she choreographed I Never Saw Another Butterfly was part of the Re-Telling Art Gallery Exhibition April 27-June 1, 2017 at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, Minneapolis, MN. The dance video was one of the featured works responding to art by Holocaust survivor Fritz Hirschberger in the permanent collection of the University of MN Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The dance soloist Megan McClellan performed to original music played by Jim Miller and the poem by Pavel Friedman in Terezin, read by the choreographer.
Judith taught a Workshop in Sephardic Dance for the four day Horati 2017 - The World's Fair of Israeli Folk Dance - held at Queens College in June, 2017.
Judith presented an interactive, multimedia program on May 20, 2017 for the Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC) of Milwaukee at the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee. Also involved with the presentation was Jody Hirsh, Artist in Residence at the Milwaukee JCC. Several hundred attended. Dr. Shay Pilnik, Director of HERC, wrote afterwards, "I wanted to thank you profusely for a mesmerizing presentation and a memorable evening. I got strong feedback from many of those who attended the program, who were as fascinated by the story of the Fireflies as I was."
See more information, including video, of Judith's 2016 reproduction of "Broucci" on the Past Projects page.
When the Batsheva Dance Company performed “Decadance 2017” at Northrop Auditorium, University of MN, as part of their American tour on Jan. 24, 2017, Judith was interviewed before the performance along with the company’s rehearsal director. To fully inform audience members she also arranged a screening of "Mr. Gaga" at Northrop the week before the company's performance. The new award-winning documentary features Batsheva’s acclaimed director, Ohad Naharin. Judith makes a cameo appearance as one of Naharin's early dance teachers.
Judith thanking documentary filmmaker Tomer Heymann after an early showing of his film "Mr. Gaga" about Ohad Naharin. Tomer brought her onstage in Tel Aviv explaining her cameo appearance in the film as one of Ohad's early teachers.
2016
Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal with Gai Behar staged her work, "Killer Pig," for the James Sewell Ballet in the company's November performances. To enhance Eyal's visit, Judith interviewed her on Wednesday, November 2 at 7 PM, through Rimon’s Salon series. The Nov. 2nd Salon program took place at the James Sewell Tek Box Theatre located at Hennepin Center for the Arts, 528 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, MN, 55403. The Salon series is a unique program of Rimon, the MN Jewish Arts Council. Eyal’s visit was made possible through the McKnight Foundation’s generosity bringing international dancers to MN.
Judith directed and choreographed a re-creation of "Broucci" or "Fireflies" on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at the Sokol Hall in St. Paul, MN.
Re-creating a musical by imprisoned Jewish artists and children in the Terezin Ghetto/Camp outside World War II Prague is an unusual story.
Judith's research included a recent interview in Tel Aviv with survivor Vera Meisels, a child in the Terezin performances. With the encouragement of Blanka Brichta, Lenka Braggova and many others at the Czech Slovak Sokol Center in St. Paul, MN, Judith is directing and choreographing a new production of "Broucci."
The reenactment of a children's musical came about through Judith's continuing research on children's performances in the Terezin Ghetto outside Prague during World War II.
Jewish children brought their favorite Czech folk tale with them to Terezin, the basis for a musical in the most unlikely of venues, a Ghetto/camp. This amazing musical was created with the imprisoned children by several original artists. The quartet included the young actress Vava Schonova who directed both the 1943 and 1945 versions. (She survived WWII and made it to Israel). The original idea to create a musical came from the choreographer Kamila Rosenbaumova who survived deportation to Auschwitz and returned to Prague after the war. The composer Karel Shvenk had the children singing Czech folk songs in “Fireflies”, many you can hear in our production, especially “Pridje…” (Spring will Come), the song that was part of “Fireflies” optimism. Shvenk did not survive and neither did the extraordinary artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis who created sets and costumes with the children.
Backstage, film by Nancy Mason Hauser
We see Judith Brin Ingber, director, explaining how to create masks for the youngest cast members, used in the night scene. Parents and Judith are seen making the little owls and bats' masks (those children were only four years old, our youngest cast members) as well as the mice and the yellow KooKoo bird masks.In the film of the show, you can see Kookoo, an imaginative bird chasing Broucke, our hero, until unwittingly, he falls and breaks one of his own wings.
We also see the head baker who explains what treats were served for the audience members, some baked goods that were usual fare at the Sokol Czech Slovak Center, and others made for the occasion from an extraordinary cookbook "In Memory's Kitchen; A Legacy from the Women of Terezin" ed. by Cara De Silva, granddaughter of Mina Pachter, an imprisoned Jewish woman at Terezin. She spearheaded defiance and resistance, writing down recipes from her own memory and those of other imprisoned Jewish woman, the 70 recipes a means of identification in a dehumanized world, recalling their good lives before the Nazis when they enjoyed cooking and hostessing. Some of the recipes for wedding receptions were recreated by the Czech Slovak bakers for the "Broucci" performance which ends in a wedding.
In "Backstage" we also see audience members in the history room of the Sokol Czech Slovak Center, upstairs from the performances. They are looking at an exhibit prepared by Judith Brin Ingber and Blanka Brichta, assistant director. There were several components of the exhibit: Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors who lived in MN such as the late Eddie Grosmann whose story is featured in one of the books shown in the exhibit, called "Witness to the Holocaust, an oral history" by Rhoda Lewin. Others featured in the exhibit (including his oral history played on a special CD with his portrait) was Walter Schwarz, over 90, now living in St. Paul. Eva Moreimi's parents' story was shown in photos and caption; she was born after the war in Czechoslovakia, and lives now in St. Louis Park.
Families with relatives in Terezin supplied photos including Tim Lauer whose parents Edith and George Lauer were imprisoned there from 1941-1945; Ferolyn Angel's grandmother was in Terezin.
Another important component of the exhibit were books, photos and stories about the quartet of imprisoned artists who created Broucci: the choreographer Kamila Rosenbaumova; Vava Schonova who was director and narrator; Karel Schlenk, composer and Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, who was costumer and set designer--they all worked together in 1943 in the original creation and performances; a second group of artists helped Vava to recreate the show in 1945 before liberation. Judith was able to interview Vera Meisels in Tel Aviv and there were photos from their visits. Vera performed in the 1945 performances of "Broucci" as an 8 year old. Of the 12,000 or so children who were imprisoned in Terezin, most were deported to Auschwitz including Kamila's son, Iwo, the choreographer of Broucci. Iwo had performed in "Broucci" and was killed in Auschwitz. Vera was one of some 200 child survivors.
2015
Judith presented her paper about Baruch Agadati, pictured in the poster, the first Hebrew Dancer, and Boris Aronson, who costumed Agadati (seen in the poster), and was later remembered for his Fiddler on the Roof set design. Watch the Conney Conference videos here. For more information, conneyproject.wisc.edu.
On March 23-27, Judith directed the Dance Lab for the 2015 Conney Conference on Jewish Arts, held at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and gave a paper called Jewish Men on Stage: Dancer Baruch Agadati & Stage Designer/Costumer Boris Aronson. Watch her presentation here:
Videos of the Jewish Dance Workshop created by Judith plus her papers are available on PODCASTS from the CONNEY CONFERENCE on Jewish Arts. See links here.
Click here for more videos from the Conney Project and two different dance presentations by the Dance Lab.
Judith spent a day in March at the University of CA Riverside Dance Department as guest of Professor Linda Tomko, where Judith was a guest lecturer on dance and ritual in society, speaking to dance in Judaism and the development of theater dance in Israel. She also met with faculty and graduate students, speaking about how she researched for her books, interviewed dance creators (including her experiences with Batsheva Dance Co. and the Gaga dance form) and her experiences associated with publishing her works. Read Judith's latest article, Bravo and Mazel Tov, covering the Batsheva Dance Company's 50th anniversary in the double issue of the Dance Critic Association's newsletter (fall/winter 2014). Thanks go to the Dance Critic Association and the DCA newsletter editor Robert Johnson.
In addition to the Dance Lab, she presented "Hasidic Representation in Dance and Theater: Baruch Agadati and Boris Aronson", a paper about Boris Aronson, remembered for his set design of Fiddler on the Roof, and Baruch Agadati, first solo Jewish dancer in Palestine/Israel.
2014
Judith in the Terezin Ghetto Archives with Helena Illnerova, whose father, Dr. Karl Lagus, was imprisoned there.
On November 30th, 2014, Judith Brin Ingber gave a lecture "An Unlikely Venue for Jewish Dance: Terezin", about the World War II Ghetto that became a transit camp called Terezin outside Prague at the Jewish Museum in Prague (U staré školy 141/1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic). She also lectured at the dance program of the Prague Academy of Arts (HUMA) during the first week of December.
Remembering Yiddish master dancer actor Felix Fibich, his photo on left, with Amanda Miryem-Khaye Seigel who sang For Fibich's memorial. Judith is on right.
Judith spearheaded the memorial to Yiddish master performer Felix Fibich on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280). Besides Judith (Felix's biographer), Steven Weintraub performed a Yiddish dance solo of his own, Yiddish singer Amanda Miryem-Khaye Seigel sang a favorite of Felix's; Jill Gellerman led Hasidic dances and there were reminiscences by colleagues of Felix's.
Judith was one of the artists featured in the unusual P'Chotchka 2014 Program of the Rimon MN Jewish Arts Council. P'Chotchka, which featured Jewish artists speed-flipping through photos/videos as they spoke about their work on June 2, 2014. In the accompanying photo (by Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin) you see Judith in a Sephardic-inspired costume referring to her days dancing at Sarah Lawrence College.
Judith appeared in Zorongo's ConVivir: 7 Dances to A More Compassionate World, in April 2014 at the Cowles Center for Dance and The Performing Arts, Minneapolis.
All credits: Jim Smith, Courtesy Zorongo Flamenco
Laura Horn, Deborah Elias, Judith Brin Ingber with arm raised, Colette Illarde, Andrea Plevan (background guitarist Amir-John Haddad)
Judith marked Purim, 2014 at Congregation Har El, Palm Desert, CA with a special program of dancing and talking about customs and lore from historical and contemporary Sephardic, Mizrahi, Ashkenazi communities and secular Tel Aviv.
2013
Judith attended the International Exposure Festival of Contemporary Israeli Dance at the Suzanne Dellal Dance Center in Tel Aviv. For her impressions see her articles for the blog "Dance in Israel":
A Perfect Storm of DanceGazing Anew at Jugs, Curves and Maps
While in Israel, she also taught at the Western Galilee College dance program.
In the fall, Judith led a discussion at Rutgers University with award-winning top Israeli choreographer/performers of 2013, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, following their "Two Room Apartment" performance. She also spoke after the Rutger's Jewish Film Festival screening of "Let's Dance," the recent documentary about Israeli contemporary dance.
Judith created the special celebration, "The Joy of Water Drawing", for the autumn Sukkot holiday celebration held outside by moonlight on September 21st, 2013. It was created with Voices of Sepharad co-founder and vocalist David Harris for Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, MN, along with one of VOS's drummers Tim O'Keefe. They are pictured in Geoffrey Marshall's photo.
In May 2013, Judith presented "Mothers of Israeli Folk Dance," an illustrated talk in NY. She also signed her book. This is the third program she has done with Cantor Steven Sher, who also brought her with Voices of Sepharad and with Mary Easter and their program "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down."
At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in April 2013, Judith conducted the dance workshops with a showing for the Conney Conference as well as presented her paper on Ted Shawn and his programming prejudices at Jacob's Pillow. (See also Conney conference papers listed in 2007).
Some of the participants in the Conney Conference dance workshop on some Jewish themes by Judith Brin Ingber, third from right, and Karen Goodman, 2nd from right, included Rebecca Pappas in blue sweater, Hannah Schwadron in tank top and Sophia Levine, first from right.
On January 23, 2013, Judith's duet, "Clouds", premiered at 9x22 at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis with her and dancer Sally Rousse and flutist Jim Miller (in foreground with Judith).
Photo by V. Paul Virtucio.
2012
On August 7, 2012, Judith taught elements of Sephardic dance and performed with Voices of Sepharad on their 25th anniversary concert at the Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, MN at the Minnesota History Center's summer world music series. The performance, held on the picturesque outdoor veranda of the MN History Center, was co-sponsored by the St. Paul JCC Cultural Arts Department. For a short video excerpt of the show see Photo Gallery.
In 1986 Judith co-founded Voices of Sepharad with vocalist David Jordan Harris. Together they have created many full length evenings based on the culture of the Jews originally based in Spain (Sepharad in Hebrew), exiled in 1492, creating new communities around the Mediterranean especially in Casablanca, Salonika, and Istanbul. Voices of Sepharad and Judith's fully costumed dance works have toured throughout the US, Canada, Poland, Istanbul and also Israel. See www.voicesofsepharad.com for history and updates of shows. On this website go to Judith's page, Choreography for Voices of Sepharad plus Photo Gallery for further images and information
On July 7, 2012, Judith was the featured speaker for the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival as part of the gala 80th anniversary Saturday. At her Pillow Talk, she was interviewed by Jacob Pillow's scholar-in-residence Philip Szporer; the bookstore sold out of all copies of her book following her talk headlining a wonderful week of Israeli dance performances by Vertigo Dance Company and LeeSaar The Company held in the idyllic western Berkshires festival. Judith was also a research fellow at the Pillow during that week, preparing for her forthcoming presentation for the University of Wisconsin Conney conference.
Judith Brin Ingber with Dr. Ruth, at Jacob's Pillow.
Judith Brin Ingber with Norton Owen, director of Jacob's Pillow Archive, at Jacob's Pillow.
On April 27-29th, 2012, Judith taught and performed for the Dance Department of Wayne State University and offered special workshops for the Festival Dancers and others at the West Bloomfield JCC as well as international folkdancers in Detroit.
2011
In 2011, Judith had many events related to release of Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance. See here for information on those events.
Israel Dance Library and Dept of Theatre Studies, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, December 25-26, 2011. Judith gave a keynote address about Sara Levi-Tanai at the international conference dedicated to this amazing artist. Levi-Tanai was the founder of Israel's first modern dance company, Inbal Dance Theatre, and also was a composer, poet and essayist.
Judith attended Tel Aviv's International Dance Exposure November 30-December 4, 2011
On November 20, 2011 Judith presented a special performance "I Danced Because I Wanted to Say Something: American Jews and Dance" about her book with contributing author Jill Gellerman and performers at the new National Museum of American Jewish History. The program was followed by a book signing. So. Independence Mall East, Philadelphia.
Judith participated in the Ohio State University "Modern Jewish Experience Through the Lens of Dance" conference February 13-14, 2011. The Ohio State University gathering, a two-day international conference including a matinee performance, scholarly panels and a roundtable discussion, was free and open to the public, sponsored by the Melton Center at Ohio State University, www.meltoncenter.osu.edu.
Judith presented a short program "Greet the Day, a Dance Movement Experience," at the SCHMOOZE Festival January 12, 2011 in New York, plus a presentation about Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance. The SCHMOOZE Festival was presented by The International Jewish Presenters Network, a new arts network linking presenters with artists and distributors.
2010
Judith was the master of ceremonies and presenter at the special program The Pulse of Jewish Folk Dance, A Tribute to Fred Berk, Berk founded the Jewish Dance Division at the famed 92Y, NYC. The June 20, 2010 performance was a rare opportunity to see reconstructed works by Berk, considered 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 featured Brin Ingber, Livia Drapkin Vanaver, Amy Schmidt and Danny Pollock, concluding with a discussion and open Israeli folk dancing session.
An evening in 2010 called "People of the Book" with composer Alex Lubet featured Judith's solo "Stepping into Heaven," inspired by a series of paintings by Georgette Sosin and also included the solo "Roles Not Taken." 3-Minute Egg met with Judith during a run-through of "Stepping into Heaven," before the Mpls JCC performance. See this streaming video of "Stepping into Heaven" (release date, Jan. 25, 2010, Runtime 4:02). Filmmaker Peikin said, "I met with Ingber during a run-through of her piece. Longtime local choreographer Judith Brin Ingber has made some of her most poignant work in collaboration with artists from other disciplines. ... 3-Minute Egg met with Judith during a run-through of the piece."
Judith caught in performance of "Stepping into Heaven," by photographer Bette Globus Goodman
"Stepping into Heaven," was commissioned by the MN Rimon Artist Salon Series and first performed in 2008 at the Basicilica of St. Mary's for an interfaith dialogue between Catholics and Jews. Judith's solo, accompanied by Jim Miller's original flute music, was inspired by "Meditations on the Aramaic Lord's Prayer, Kaddish, and Other Work," an art installation of Georgette Sosin. Judith's solo performance took place in front of Sosin's oils, hung in the Basilica gallery space.
"La Rosa Revisited, Yearnings" performed with Hannah Kramer and Canae Weiss, and original Voices of Sepharad musicians David Harris and Scott Davies ("Matteo") in the 9 x 22 series at the Bryant Lake Bowl, Mpls., June 23, 2010.
2009
Judith performed, lectured and taught during "Klezmerquerque," 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. Judith's workshops featured dances from the Eastern European Jewish wedding repertoire such as Rebbe Elimelech tanz and Kayzad merakdim.
Her lecture "Why Jews Aren't Just People of the Book" included rare and historic dance photos and music for Jewish dance in far-flung communities through the ages. The featured 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.
2008
Judith premiered her dance solo "Roles Not Taken," in the autumn of 2008 at the Minneapolis 9x22 Dance Cabaret at Bryant Lake Bowl: The solo was also commissioned by 9x22. Created in collaboration with videographer Will Fehlow, the solo is both humorous and poignant as it looks at TV's Mickey Mouse Club, musicals, classic ballet and issues of Jewish identity.
Judith's "The Argument" was seen on July 29, 2008 program and on a special performance of Voices of Sepharad in "Peace in the House," 2006, Sundin Music Hall on the Hamline University Campus, Saint Paul, MN.
"Through Tears to Joy," choreographed and directed by Judith on February 17, 2008, Mpls. Jewish Community Center, was a humorous theater dance program written by David Jordan Harris and Carla Vogel. It was an original take on Eastern European Jewish weddings, 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.
In 1986 Judith co-founded Voices of Sepharad with vocalist David Jordan Harris. Together they have created many full length evenings based on the culture of the Jews originally based in Spain (Sepharad in Hebrew), exiled in 1492, creating new communities around the Mediterranean especially in Casablanca, Salonika, and Istanbul. Voices of Sepharad and Judith's fully costumed dance works have toured throughout the US, Canada, Poland, Istanbul and also Israel. See www.voicesofsepharad.com for history and updates of shows. On this website go to Judith's page, Choreography for Voices of Sepharad plus Photo Gallery for further images and information
Judith presented a free afternoon show on February 7, 2008 at Dreamland Arts, including "Roles Not Taken," and "The Argument," based on the story of the biblical matriarch Sarah and Hagar in a modern day twist, plus Judith's illustrated presentation on Jewish dance.
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.
Judith performed twice in the Middle East Civic Education Project, 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, directed by Ari Zamora.
2007
Judith taught at KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program 23rd annual program, Dec. 23-28, 2007, working with Felix Fibich in "Meeting with Our Masters." As dance historian, Judith set the stage for legendary dancer/choreographer octogenarian Felix Fibich, presenting and interviewing him in 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.
Judith's paper, "Identity Peddlers and the Influence of Gertrud Kraus," was presented at the international Congress on Research in Dance 2007 called Choreographies of Migration in New York City at Barnard College, November 8-11, 2007. 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.
See Judith's presentations in podcasts from four Conney Conferences on the Jewish Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Madison:
- "Identity Peddlers Through Dance," spring of 2007
- "Dance in Israel: Performing Israeli as Opposed to Jewish Identity," spring of 2009
- "Jewish Identity in the Arts", April 2011. Illustrated paper about editing Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance with contributing authors Dawn Lille on Ethiopian Jewish Dance and Yehuda Hyman on Hasidic dance.
- "The Jewish Diaspora and Ted Shawn: His programming at Jacob?s Pillow Festivals", April 9-12, 2013
Follow link: conneyproject.wisc.edu/2009-conference.
She was also artist-in-residence in Waukegan, IL at Rabbi Ze'ev Harari's Congregation Am Echod where she performed and lectured in 2007.
Machol Europa
Judith taught for the third time at the Machol Europa 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.
2006
PEACE IN THE HOUSE
Judith performed with five other dancers and six musicians in Voices of Sepharad's theater, music and dance evening in 2006 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.
Judith in costume performing with Voices of Sepharad. Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.
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.
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 co-produced "From the Horse's Mouth: Magical Tales of Real Dancers" with the Southern Theater, Oct. 27-30, 2005. The evening was a dance/theater celebration of the exciting diversity—and rich history—of dance in Minnesota. Originally created by Jamie Cunningham and Tina Croll, they collaborated with dance personalities from the Twin Cities including performers Ranee Ranaswamy, Sally Rousse, Cassandra, Zoe Sealy, Linda Shapiro, Tamara Ober, Brin Ingber and others.
Click to Enlarge, Photo by Rick Sachwitz
|
Click to Enlarge, Photo by Rick Sachwitz |
(Judith is in the black gown, Sally Rousse wearing pointe shoes, James Sewell in shorts, next to tall Patrick Scully in the seersucker suit.)
Download "From the Horse's Mouth" promotional postcard (PDF)
Judith had a residency in July, 2005 at the West Bloomfield (Michigan) Jewish Community Center where she also conducted workshops for the Festival Dancers, created a performance in conjunction with the art exhibit about Sephardic costumes, and lectured about Jewish dance. Read about her visit to Michigan in the Detroit Jewish News.
Tales and Controversies, February 15th, 2005, Rutgers University,
An Evening of Original Music & Dance created and produced by Judith Brin Ingber - dancer, choreographer and storyteller (in conjunction with Jeff Friedman and the dance program), accompanied by Sephardi musicians Sarah Aroeste and Yoel Ben-Simhon, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, Nicholas Hall.
Judith in costume with musicians Sarah Aroeste and Yoel Ben-Simhon. Click image to enlarge.
Judith's evening for Dayla Center for Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem, Solo Dances and Discussion with the Artist, January 7, 2005, Jerusalem, Israel. (Judith's dances included "Hagar's Midrash," "The Argument," and "The Comeback Performance of Bari Simon" for Dayla's diverse audience of Arabic and Hebrew speaking young people, as well as arts patrons and political activists from a broad Israeli spectrum.
2004
Celebrating 350 years of Jewish Life in America
November 20, 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.
"The Argument" was presented by curator Laurie Van Wieren October 27, 2004 at the popular Minneapolis cabaret 9 x 22 — A Dance Lab at the Bryant Lake Bowl.
She spoke at the SDHS Conference at Duke University in June 2004 about Jewish dancers from Europe in World War Two.
At the Festival of One Woman Shows, Judith performed in the Center for Independent Artists in Minneapolis February 21 and 22, 2004 with storyteller Carla Vogel. Judith showed her dance about Gurit Kadman, also the "Comeback Performance of Bari Simon," and "The Argument." The CIA theater was named "The Best Theater for New Work," by the City Pages.
THIRST!
Judith's full length evening, THIRST! ,was presented in 2004 at the Southern Theater. The centerpiece was a new work about the biblical heroine Judith who was spurred to action against the powerful, malevolent Holofernes. The original score was composed by Michael Karmon, the role of Holofernes played by Joe Spencer. Other dancers included Robert Haarman, Canae Weiss and Judith. Canae was the first deaf dancer ever to train in the special summer workshops of American Ballet Theater; she brought an unusual sensitivity and skill to her role as the assistant to Judith., and in Judith's new piece " according to the Star Tribune article. Other premiers included Judith's solo "The Comeback Performance of Bari Simon," and "Shiviti: A Hebraic Mandala" danced by Canae, showing the patterns we fail to see in our lives, to original music by Danny Maseng. Also on the program was "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 "Thirst," "These Things I Remember" and "Hagar's Midrash, A Story."
THIRST! was announced in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"Hannelore " a dance solo in collaboration with composer/guitarist Alex Lubet based on paintings of Holocaust survivor Hannelore Baron (with special permission of her family and the Smithsonian to use photos of Baron's projected paintings). First performed at Macalester College, St. Paul in spring, 2000; also at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and at the national Society for Disability Studies conference in Bethesda, Maryland June, 2003, also seen at Beth Jacob Synagogue in Mendota Heights, MN; the Minneapolis Jewish Community Center and the Spark Festival at the University of Minnesota.
2003
In November, 2003, Judith was a guest of the Graduate Colloquium of the dance program at the University of California, Riverside sponsored by Professor Linda Tomko. Besides teaching, she performed her program "Whose Jewish Identity? Comments and Examples through Dance."
Judith's dance history and critical writing courses in the 10th annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival in Bytom, Poland in July and August of 2003, sponsored by Jacek Luminski, director of the Silesian Dance Theater.
2002 and earlier
Judith lectured at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem in winter 2002; and at the Ga'aton Dance Center in 2002.
Her illustrated dance lectures about dance in the Holocaust and the research of Jacek Luminski were featured at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia in autumn 2001, as part of an international conference on the Polish choreographer Jacek Luminski;
Mergers and Acquisitions
Judith's humorous work "Mergers and Acquisitions" with Patrick Scully and Brian Sostek was 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 and at Patrick's Cabaret, 2001.
She spoke about Fred Berk's life and contribution to the spread of Israeli folk dance in Israel at the international Israeli folk dance festival "Horati" at Hofstra University in New York in 2001.
For American Jewish Studies conferences in Washington, DC, in Chicago and in Boston, Judith has presented papers about Jewish dancers in the Holocaust and Yemenite Israeli choreographer Sara Levi-Tanai; and dance in Judaism as seen in her book.
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.
"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.
Another successful program, the full length evening piece called "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down" about Black/Jewish relations co-created and co-performed with fellow choreographer/performer Mary Easter, was also seen from 1997-1999 at the University of Minnesota; in the Jewish Community Centers of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis; at the Hallie Q. Brown & Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul, Minnesota; on tour to Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa; Carelton College in Northfield, Minnesota; Chicago's Temple KAM Isaiah; New York's Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, in Croton-on-Hudson, and Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York.
Judith also made guest appearances with two ballet companies:
- as the sausage seller in Sally's Rousse's "Petrouchka, ode to Nijinksy," in the James Sewell Ballet Company (JSBC) Minneapolis production, at the Southern Theatre, for the winter JSBC season, Feb., 2009.
- in the James Sewell Ballet Company (JSBC) Minneapolis production, at the Southern Theatre, for the winter JSBC season, Feb., 2009.
- as the Lady Capulet, in the full length "Romeo and Juliet" on Valentine's Day, 2003, at O'Shaugnessy Auditorium, St. Paul, MN. Produced by Erik Sanborn, for the Metro Ballet, http://www.metroballet.org
Judith was the Farber Fellow at Princeton University where she taught in the dance program for Professor Ze'eva Cohen and addressed the college in her lecture: "Relaxed: Views of the Body from Biblical Time to the Present" at Princeton University, April 26th, 1993.
