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In the Month of Kislev

Posted By JoAnne Tucker On In New York Company | Comments Disabled

This time of the year holiday dance programs are the norm, with The Nutcracker dominating the scene, from local civic ballets to New York City Ballet’s outstanding production.  For a long time I wanted to choreograph a holiday piece.  The story of Chanukah I always found problematic so I knew I had to find something different than a retelling of the original story.  I was really excited when I found a delightful children’s book from the oral tradition by Nina Jaffe, an award-winning author, folklorist and storyteller on the faculty of the Graduate School at Bank Street College of Education. 

This review in Kirkus shares the charming story:

Mendel the peddler and his hard-working wife are so poor they can’t buy a single potato for Hanukkah but, miraculously, their daughters fall asleep contented each night after smelling the delicious aroma of latkes emanating from the home of Feivel the merchant. Feivel is outraged: they must pay for “taking the smell of my food right out from under my nose!” The wise rabbi decrees an appropriate fine: putting the village’s Hanukkah gelt in a bag, he shakes it—“We have paid for the smell…with the sound.” Feivel reforms; the two families reconcile.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nina-jaffe/in-the-month-of-kislev/K [1]

I found this a perfect story to set to movement and eagerly contacted the author to ask permission.  She was thrilled and immediately put me in touch with her contact person at the book’s publisher who was easy to work with, and we quickly came to an agreement allowing Avodah to create a dance piece based on the children’s book.

Live music was perfect for this piece. A trio of three musicians was just right —  percussionist (Newman Taylor Baker),  clarinetist and vocalist.  In addition to the four company members (each of whom played numerous characters), I added several children.  One of them was the daughter of Lynn Elliot, a former Avodah dancer.  

While the piece didn’t have many seasons of performances, the ones it did have were very satisfying, and I am glad to share the following pictures. 

From l. to r. Carla Armstrong and Beth Millstein creating their own percussion dance by playing with pots (Photo by Tom Brazil)
From l. to r. Kezia and Beth as the two children enjoying the smell of the latkes beneath Feivel’s window (Photo by Tom Brazil)
Elizabeth (on the right) as the Mom taking care of her children (l. to r. Beth and Kezia) (Photo by Tom Brazil)

 
Kezia, as shaking the coins for Feivel (Elizabeth) to hear as the townschildren react and mimic.  
(Photo by Tom Brazil)