Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion

What to do with 10 scrapbooks, a box filled with videos of performances and a pile of files?

JoAnne Tucker / January 3, 2020 / Personal Life

As Murray and I have decided to move with just suitcases to our new home in Costa Rica, we have been going through drawers and bookcases and finding new homes for so many things. From 1972 to 2004 I diligently kept Avodah scrapbooks filled with flyers of performances, reviews, photographs of fun times on tour, shots of workshops/performances and professional photographs of different pieces. Suddenly I was faced with what to do with them. As they also are providing an important resource for this blog, I immediately decided that the most important thing to do was to scan each page so I would have the information but could then let go of the actual heavy and bulky scrapbooks.

And so several weeks ago I began scanning each page, sometimes even opening up a program or an article to scan that part which wasn’t visible on the page. One night when I went to bed I noticed that I had a queasy knot in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what that was from.

Kezia had encouraged me to find a place to donate the scrapbooks. I wasn’t sure where. I did drop an email to two people asking for suggestions, but didn’t get a response. Kezia suggested the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center, but I didn’t think that was realistic since I wasn’t a mainstream dance figure. And then I thought maybe the Dance Library of Israel, but I didn’t pursue that.

Then, as I was scanning yet another volume it dawned on me that one of the most consistent things in the history of The Avodah Dance Ensemble was that from the company’s beginning, it had been a part of the reform Jewish movement, and in New York our home base was Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. We had collaborated with many professors there, and both rabbinic students and cantorial students had played important roles in the company, so HUC-JIR seemed the most likely place for an archive. Kezia had already suggested that possibility, but the problem was that most of the people I had worked with had retired or were no longer there. But now I went to their website in search of some ideas.

At the website I found the American Jewish Archives which are housed at the Cincinnati campus of HUC-JIR. They have their own website and of course I went there. It mentioned that they have a collection of papers, scrapbooks and music related to reform Judaism and Jews in America. They list their collection on one of the pages in two ways. One is alphabetical and the other is by collection number. This sounded like a match. I jotted down their phone number and first thing the next morning I called. I was put through to a delightful woman, Dr. Dana Herman, who, as soon as I explained the different people at HUC-JIR that Avodah and I had worked with, said they would be thrilled to have the collection.

Much to my surprise, the weird pit in my stomach eased. I hadn’t realized that I was very concerned about where the materials would be housed. As I was scanning the pages I was reminded of the many outstanding scholars, musicians, writers, dancers and fellow choreographers who are a part of Avodah’s and my history. The number of reform congregations in the US where we participated in Shabbat services, performed concerts, or led workshops was surprising, in addition to the Hillels, JCC’s, conservative and even occasional orthodox communities. (We also performed and taught in interfaith programs, correctional facilities, universities, public and private schools, and arts venues, among other settings.)

And each year we presented several programs at HUC-JIR in New York. There were at least two occasions when we presented at the LA campus. The Cincinnati campus had its own special leader of dance, Franchon Shur, and I was lucky to meet her and interact with her on several occasions.

It was at the HUC-JIR campus that we held classes for children living in temporary housing. The college generously allowed us the use of classrooms, the kitchen and sanctuary for the 5-week program which met twice a week. It was one of our favorite teaching situations and we were fortunate to receive the grant from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs for a few years.

In the late 90’s when (at Kezia’s urging) we began doing an annual week-long adult summer workshop on dance as part of a synagogue or church program, it too was held at HUC-JIR, in June when the regular college wasn’t in session.

There were even several years when I taught “liturgy” as part of the Doctor of Ministry program. Indeed the relationship with HUC-JIR was a very deep one and so I am thrilled that the collection will be housed there and available for anyone who wants to do research related to The Avodah Dance Ensemble and my role as founder and artistic director.

Pictures representing many different dancers and pieces.
I organized them into different piles for the archives.

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Remembering Rabbi Larry Raphael

JoAnne Tucker / March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 / New York Company

It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of Rabbi Larry Raphael. Larry was an important person in my life and in the Avodah Dance Ensemble’s life, from the time Avodah became associated with Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1978. At that time, Larry was an Assistant Dean. He stayed at HUC-JIR until 1996, leaving (as Dean) when he became the first Director of Adult Jewish Growth at the Union for Reform Judaism. He left the New York area in 2003 to become the 9^thRabbi at Sherith Israel in San Francisco. He died this past Sunday.

I liked to refer to him jokingly as Avodah’s casting director, because he told Rick Jacobs (then a student at HUC-JIR) that Avodah was looking for a tall dancer. Rick auditioned and was an important force in the company for many years. He also recommended, when they were students, Cantor Mark Childs and Rabbi Susan Freeman, both of whom played very important roles in the company.

By 1983, Larry was a Board Member of Avodah, formalizing his enthusiasm and support for the dance company. As the company’s home address was HUC-JIR and I often stopped by to check Avodah’s mailbox, I was always glad to see Larry in the hallway or stop by his office and know that if there was something on my mind, he would be very welcoming and take time to discuss any challenges I might be facing with the company.

One of Larry’s roles in New York was to conduct High Holiday services for young adults living away from home in Manhattan. Well, Murray and I didn’t fit the category of “young adults,” but since we had a relationship with HUC-JIR, we were welcome to attend services there. Those attending weren’t a community, but Larry’s warm way of leading made us feel we were. The Rosh Hashanah service after 9/11 was a good example. Shortly after beginning the service, he invited us to introduce ourselves to someone sitting near us that we didn’t know and share where we were on 9/11. I will long remember the buzz in the room and the connections made instantaneously.

When Avodah created repertory related to Selichot, Larry invited us to perform that or any relevant dance midrash as part of the afternoon Yom Kippur service. It was never a full company, as some of the dancers were observing the High Holiday in their home communities, but there were at least two or three dancers who would join me to participate. It was a special feeling to incorporate dance into this most sacred time in the Jewish calendar, and I am very grateful that Larry gave us that experience.

I was honored to be on the faculty of several summer Kallot of the UAHC (now the URJ), where for five days adults gathered together and studied. I led dance midrash workshops. Larry, aided by Barbara Shulman, was in charge. These were very special programs, not only because we had very enthusiastic and dedicated adults in our sessions, but because I was learning from and connecting with some of the outstanding scholars and cantors of the 90’s and early 2000’s.

I am deeply grateful for Larry’s role in helping to build The Avodah Dance Ensemble, his friendship, his innovative approach, and his warmth. The Yiddish word “mensch” so beautifully fits him.

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Beginning of the New York Company

JoAnne Tucker / December 7, 2018December 15, 2018 / New York Company

While I am fuzzy on dates and exactly how I started a second company of Avodah in New York City I am clear on what motivated me. A modern dance company based on Jewish liturgy, rituals, text and history needed to be located in a place where there would be lots of opportunities for bookings and performances. Tallahassee was not that place. Yes, we had done a bit of touring in Savannah, Pittsburgh, Tampa and even one performance in Closter, NJ but somehow that wasn’t enough for me. While I found Tallahassee a wonderful place to experiment, to develop repertory, I longed for more opportunities to tour and share the repertory. The idea of having a second company based in New York City and making regular trips to New York really appealed to me.

By this time, I had stopped performing myself, stepping into the role of choreographing, directing and managing the business side of the company and non-profit. Around the same time, my father was spending a lot of time in the New York office of the sportswear company he worked for, and my sister, Peggy, had decided to make a transition to working in New York. My father and Peggy found a lovely apartment on the East side near the UN and so I had a place to stay. Peggy and I recently brainstormed exactly when that was and we think it was in May 1978. As best as I can tell from programs in my scrapbook, it was the summer of 1978 when I formed a company of 5 dancers and did an evening performance at Temple Israel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

How did I find the dancers? Well what is coming to mind is that I returned to take some classes from a favorite teacher of mine from Juilliard, Alfredo Corvino, who had a studio called Dance Circle on 8^thAvenue between 46^thand 47^thStreet. That is where I found Lynn Elliott who would dance with the company for quite a few years. A dancer from Tallahassee that I had worked with, Peggy Evans, had moved to New York City and so I reached out to her to join the company. Three other dancers, Kathy McDonald, Yael, and Benjamin Greenberg, I may have found through an audition notice or perhaps I also found them at Alfredo Corvino’s studio.

Rabbi Walter Jacob, by then an Avodah Board member, reached out to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, located at that time on West 68^thStreet, and arranged for us to have rehearsal space at the school. That was the beginning of a long-term relationship with HUC-JIR. I hoped to invite people to the concert at Temple Israel who could help with bookings for the New York company. I have pictures that clearly show the repertory we did and that Irving Fleet joined us for the performance working with a choir for In Praise. Other pieces performed in the afternoon concert were Sabbath Woman and a newly created piece, I Never Saw Another Butterfly. The bema of the Temple provided a beautiful setting for the concert and one major contact was made for the company that had a profound impact on our development both in increased bookings for the New York company and in Florida for the Tallahassee company.

Kathy McDonald as the bride in *Sabbath Woman*.

Yael in front, Kathy behind in *I Never Saw Another Butterfly*.

Stephan Bayer, head of the Lecture Bureau for the Jewish Welfare Board (now called the Association of Jewish Community Centers), attended the concert and asked if he could add us to the roster of people they represented. Furthermore, Stephan also agreed to welcome me into the Lecture Bureau office and teach me how to book performances and put a tour together. I am forever grateful to Stephan for the role he played in helping us develop as a company. Later Stephan joined our board and served as an outstanding President for a number of years. Our next New York performance was in the spring of 1979 as part of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion’s Sunday Afternoon at the College Series. Lynne Elliott, Peggy Evans and Kathy McDonald continued to dance with the company and two new dancers, Holly Kaplan and a male dancer whose name I can’t recall, joined us. The three pieces done in the summer were included along with a new piece Sarah which I had created in Tallahassee with the help of a grant from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The piece received its first performance in Tallahassee at Temple Israel on March 3 and six weeks later I restaged it with the New York company.

While the area the dancers had to work on was small, I remember being so proud of the performance they gave and I love this picture which was taken of us outside of HUC-JIR after the performance.

From Left to Right: JoAnne Tucker, Irving Fleet, unknown male dancer, Kathy McDonald, Peggy Evans, Lynn Elliott and Holly Kaplan.

I feel so very grateful to have had long-term relationships with dancers in the company. Each relationship has taken on its own special character. Lynn Elliott worked with the company for a number of years and many years later her daughter Justine performed with us. I will be writing more about Lynn in later blogs. While Kathy McDonald only danced with us in New York for that first year, she has kept in touch with the company and myself through the years. Each year she has sent a contribution first during Avodah’s fundraising campaign and now Healing Voices – Personal Stories. I always feel a wonderful glow as I open the envelope and remember her beautiful lyrical quality portraying the bride in Sabbath Woman. Many years later, Kezia, looking for a place to take adult ballet classes in Poughkeepsie, found a wonderful class taught by Kathy, who had opened a studio there specifically for adult dancers. Besides realizing they had both been in Avodah, they discovered they had performed the same solo in I Never Saw Another Butterfly.

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After School Program for Children Living in Temporary Housing

JoAnne Tucker / August 17, 2018November 20, 2018 / "Let My People Go"

Thirty children, along with a few parents, arrived at our home base of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) on West 4^thStreet in NYC to spend several hours with the Let My People Go Company. For five weeks, twice a week they participated in 45 minutes of dance and 45 minutes of music education, as well as journal writing, dinner and other short activities related to Let My People Go. The program culminated in a special sharing for parents and invited guests, where the children performed, celebrated at a special dinner and went home with souvenirs including a Let My People Go T-shirt, a rainstick, and books (generously donated by Scholastic Press) about music and Harriet Tubman.

We learned about the Cultural Arts Program for Children Living in Temporary Housing from H.T. Chen and Dian Dong, as we rented rehearsal space for a number of years from Chen and Dancers in Chinatown. They had received grants from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs for several years and suggested we apply. We did and were thrilled to receive grants for the next several years until the program ended. It was one of the most satisfying teaching experiences that we had.

Kezia shared some of the experiences of the first year in Avodah’s December 1995 Newsletter:

The talking drum shouted with anger and then whispered a secret. The 12-year-old drummer had expressed her frustration clearly, without using a word. Words might come later, too, in her journal, but right now the drum was more satisfying, simultaneously announcing her feelings while keeping the specifics private.

Think of all the emotions, the alarms, the summonses, the celebrations, the unifying rhythms, the messages –throughout history, throughout the world – that have been spoken by drums. Nor did the power of the drum escape the attention of those who feared it; just as slaves in America were forbidden to learn to read, forbidden to gather, so too, their drums were taken away. But as the children who worked with our drummer, Newman Baker, would tell you, if you don’t have an actual drum in front of you, you always have one on you. And these children would further demonstrate for you the variations in tone when you slap the top of your thigh, pat the side of it, or tap your knee, all while beating complicated rhythms on this “hambone.”

It was during these programs that we witnessed Newman’s incredible talents teaching and I am thrilled to report that Newman continued to share his talents with Avodah as a regular collaborator and today continues as my very dear friend. You will be reading lots more about him as this blog continues.

Newman and Elizabeth teaching in a junior high school classroom. We often had grants to bring programs into the public schools.

All the company members proved to be excellent teachers beautifully guiding the children in various activities. For example, Loretta talked about Harriet Tubman and asked the children to go quietly from their lively school bus through a long lobby downstairs to their activity room as if they were fugitive slaves following Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad. Loretta, of course, became Harriet Tubman.

Loretta Abbott leading the children in the final presentation.

The facilities at HUC-JIR proved to be outstanding for the program. The large kitchen was ideal to make tasty and healthy dinners. Thank you, HUC-JIR, for making this possible. I learned that I could shop at BJ’s in Jersey City for large amounts of food at a reasonable price enabling me to add treats that the children were able to take home with them. For the first year, a former Avodah dancer, Peggy Evans (then a professional clown), coordinated the cooking. With classes, journal writing and eating together, the program flowed smoothly.

The Chapel at HUC-JIR was just perfect forthe dance classes and especially for the final presentation.

The director of the program for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs was Rhonda McLean Nur. And much to our delight she sent Jeannine Otis to observe our work for the Department. We had met Jeannine before, when she appeared in a program that we had shared with Faith Journey at HUC. As we got to know Jeannine more, I kept thinking there had to be a way to collaborate with her. (See the next blog for how this came to be.)

In the second year of receiving the grant and developing a very strong relationship with the children, I arranged a field trip/reunion for the staff and children to attend a performance of the Broadway show Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk. While I don’t remember all the details of how we were able to pull this off, I believe the producers made special price tickets available to school groups for the matinee. It was exciting to have Savion Glover and other cast members talk to the children after the show.

Our field trip to see Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.

Reflecting back on these unique teaching opportunities my heart again fills with the joy that we received from the children. They were eager and hungry to learn from us, and their enthusiasm brought out the very best in our teaching skills.

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