KlezFest Dance Strand

Klezmer dances are joyous inclusive dances, that unwittingly helped to strengthen the friendship and kinship bonds of the community.  In our fragmented modern society, these dances resonate with us today, as they give opportunities to meet and relate to others, in forgotten or disregarded ways.

Klezmer dances are happy and heart-warming, easy to learn and easy to teach at their basic level, as they are rooted on the simple walking step, and are often but not always, in a circle or line.  Yet their interesting complexities lie in the refinements of their style.

This year, as well as our best known European Klezmer Dance teacher Andreas Schmitges, KlezFest has booked Michael Alpert from the States to lead the klezmer dancing. Not only is he a leading musicologist and multi-instrumentalist (Klezmer band ~ Brave Old World), but he is also a leading exponent of Klezmer(Yiddish) dance, with the particular interest in how it sat within the framework of the Jewish wedding. KlezFest offers four dance workshops a day; from two on the basic repertoire of dances, through a creative dance session, to a session on how to lead and teach Klezmer dance, and with some Klezmer dance opportunities most evenings, too.

The Klezmer Dance course ~ £100 ~ is part of the week-long Klezfest.

modified June 19, 2010