Over two months ago I had begun writing about the Sephardic program we developed and toured with Rabbi Ray Scheindlin. Then came the intensity of caretaking and losing my longtime partner, and when I did write again it was turning my attention to the immediate. Now, although still very much in a stage of not knowing what is normal or routine, I find myself glad to return to remembering and reflecting on the last of the three works that were part of the Sephardic program. This piece was called Lovesongs and Lullabies.
I have always felt so honored and blessed to have wonderful dancers to work with, and Lovesongs and Lullabies was a set of four songs in which each dancer could be featured in one song and then all the dancers could join together in the last one. The three featured dancers, Elizabeth McPherson, Beth Millstein Wish and Kezia Gleckman Hayman all continue to be special friends who I am so glad are still very much a part of my life.
The motivation for this piece came from finding a wonderful set of Sephardic Love Songs and Lullabies. Wikipedia has a helpful description of Sephardic music. Here is the beginning paragraph and then an excerpt from a later one. If you would like to read the whole section along with links to a lot of Sephardic artists, click here.
Sephardic music has its roots in the musical traditions of the Jewish communities in medieval Spain and medieval Portugal. Since then, it has picked up influences from Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and the other places that Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled after their expulsion from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1496. Lyrics were preserved by communities formed by the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. These Sephardic communities share many of the same lyrics and poems, but the melodies vary considerably.
The language of these folk songs was Judaeo-Spanish or Ladino, a mix of different Old Spanish dialects and Hebrew. Much like Yiddish in Eastern Europe, Judaeo- Spanish was spoken by Jews in Spain and Portugal in addition to the languages
of public life, which at the time were Arabic and Spanish.
I really loved the four songs I found. I wish I could remember the artist singing them but I can’t, and while I found some of the songs (particularly Nani Nani) on YouTube they were by different artists. They all had feelings of longing, sadness and softness to them. The opening piece featured Elizabeth McPherson, remembering and longing for an absent lover. Kezia and Beth joined her for a lovely trio in parts of the piece. The second piece is to the well known lullaby Nani Naniin which the Mom is singing her sadness to her child. Beth Millstein is the Mom lulling her imaginary baby. Another dancer is kneeling, holding a piece of fabric as if it were a baby. As the piece progresses, Beth takes the fabric from the kneeling dancer and uses it sometimes as the baby and sometimes as a way to vent her frustration. By the end of this section her movement has become intense and the image of the baby is lost, replaced by the pain of wanting her husband to return.
Continuing in this theme of longing for a lover (or a home/land/life) no longer present, Kezia’s piece opens with a long diagonal cross of deep lunges with arms to her side. Gradually arms are added to the traveling lunges as she faces in different directions as if reaching for the memory she aches for, and she is joined by Beth and Elizabeth. Contractions to the floor are added to this section which continues with variations of the longing lunges.
The transition into the last section has Kezia picking up the fabric which had been used in the second section and putting it as a shawl around Beth. Beth portrays a bride entering the mikvah. A mikvah is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism, including sometimes by a bride before her wedding. The other dancers join Beth, preparing her and blessing her as she enters the imaginary mikvah. Walking into that imaginary water she slowly immerses herself and then stands up with a tenderness and strength.
Luckily we have a video of one of the performances, which helped to refresh my mind. I was surprised by my reaction as I watched, mainly that the dramatic longings the dancers portrayed came through so clearly even on my small laptop. And once again I am reminded of how beautifully Kezia, Beth and Elizabeth danced both individually and together, contributing to the company growth. What a joy it is to still be in touch with them nearly thirty years later.
Luckily we have several very lovely pictures from the piece and I conclude today’s writing by sharing them.
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