The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance: Veretski Pass

Join the JCC East Bay for a new monthly series celebrating “The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance!” Great for musicians, dancers, and enthusiasts to meet, schmooze, or simply to take in the beauty of these rich traditions.

Each session has three parts:

1. During the first hour, participants can choose between two spaces to learn multi-ethnic music and dance technique and styles.
2. Participants will all come together for the second hour for a dance party focusing on the dances and tunes taught in the prior hour.
3. The third hour will be an informal music jam in one or more of the classroom spaces at the JCC.

Sheet music and reference recordings as available will be posted to the KlezCalifornia tune archive.

This session will have music lead by Veretski Pass. Veretski Pass is a trio of Jewish Music veterans who have been at the forefront of the klezmer revival for over 25 years. Taking their name from the mountain pass through which Magyar tribes crossed into the Carpathian basin to settle what later became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Veretski Pass offers a unique and exciting combination of virtuosic musicianship and raw energy that has excited concertgoers across the world. The trio plays Old Country Music with origins in the Ottoman Empire, once fabled as the borderlands of the East and the West. In a true collage of Carpathian, Jewish, Rumanian and Ottoman styles, typical suites contain dances from Moldavia and Bessarabia; Jewish melodies from Poland and Rumania; Hutzul wedding music from Carpathian-Ruthenia; and haunting Rebetic aires from Smyrna, seamlessly integrated with original compositions.

Dance will be led by Bruce Bierman.

Tickets are $72.00 for the five-session series or $18.00-$54.00 sliding scale for a single session. The workshop takes place at the JCC East Bay in Berkeley.

This event is supported, in part, by a grant from KlezCalifornia’s Yiddish Culture Fund.