JoAnne Tucker shares her experiences in dance from directly a modern dance company to leading movement activities for women in prison and domestic violence survivors.
Leslie Zehr is a wonderful host and interviewer, and even though this was my first podcast, she immediately put me at ease. We had a delightful, fun conversation where I was able to share my journey from dancing as a toddler while my grandmother played the piano, through my dance education at the Graham Studio and The Juilliard School, to the creation of the Avodah Dance Ensemble. Her questions enabled me to discuss the transformative power of dance, as we explored how dance is a method of empowerment and healing in women’s correctional institutions, and how it led to filmmaking and in particular the film Through the Door: Movement and Meditation as Part of Healing with domestic violence survivors.
Each month since January 31, 2021, Leslie has produced a different Podcast, all designed to inspire “a community of like-minded souls seeking to understand the cosmic dance of co-creation through the sacred arts.” She wants to expand minds, ignite creativity and explore something new and something old.
Leslie is a sacred arts teacher, workshop leader, mentor and author of two books, The Alchemyof Dance and The Al-chemia Remedies. While she was born in Peru and educated in the United States, she lives in Egypt, where for more than 30 years she has supported women “to reconnect to the Divine Feminine within through the mysteries of ancient Egypt.”
The Podcast series covers a range of subjects. Some examples are: Let Your Yoga Dance; Sacred Self Care Chakradance; A Roundtable Discussion of the Importance of Movement and Dance in Children’s Lives; and Japanese Butoh.
While the Podcast is not done live, Leslie does no editing, so I knew that I had to be as clear and focused as I could be. When the interview was over, we had a few minutes to check in about how it went. I expressed my gratitude to Leslie for her warmth, and we both agreed we had fun sharing together. The interview is available to listen to as a podcast and to watch on YouTube.
One evening, just a few weeks ago, I opened my email to find a short message from Kezia: “Odd Thing to Find on Ebay,” with an attached link. (ebay.com/itm/354622198330?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28.) Of course, my curiosity was strongly triggered so I followed the link and was surprised to find a 1983 photo of The Avodah Dance Ensemble. The photo was for sale from a company called Historic Images.
I immediately recognized the photo, as it was one of my favorites, taken by photographer Amanda Keglow, and I regularly used it for publicity for several years. It was both amusing and surprising to find it on eBay and realize that it was considered a vintage object. I wondered how it got there, and notes on the back of the photo referred to a Jewish Community Center in January of 1983, and correctly identified the four dancers in the picture. It did not say which Jewish Community Center. I wondered which tour it was. Luckily, I had email addresses for, and had remained in contact with the four dancers who were in the picture, so I put together a group email to them: Rick, Lynne, Roberta, and Nanette, to ask if any of them might remember which JCC we performed at in January 1983. It wasn’t long before I got an email from Rick: “JCC New Orleans??”
Aha… now I could easily check that information and learn more about the tour by going to the digital images of the ten volumes of Avodah scrapbooks now housed at the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.
The first thing I discovered was that the four dancers in the photo were not the ones on the tour. Rick and Roberta were, but Lynne and Nanette were not. I had contact information for Roberta so I immediately added her to the email chain. Luckily, even though she had recently retired from her job, her IT person kindly forwarded my email to her. I wasn’t so lucky with the other dancer, Dircella. While I had an email for her and added her to the chain, it wasn’t until several weeks later that I researched and found her on FB, messengered her and got her correct email. The fourth dancer was Naomi, and I had not kept in touch with her. I Googled and found that she had passed.
The tour began on January 21, 1983, in Birmingham, AL at Temple Emanu El. Roberta’s mother had sung in the choir at this Temple. Roberta was currently in Tallahassee, FL, where I was also living, so we drove to Birmingham together. The other dancers were due to fly from New York and join us. Their flight was late, but they made it in time for us to have a quick rehearsal.
Following the Friday night performance, which was part of the Shabbat service, our next performance was in Montgomery, AL. It was my 40th birthday, and the dancers arranged for cupcakes backstage and sang “Happy Birthday” at some point during rehearsal. Rick and I were staying in a lovely house, and we fondly nicknamed the owner “The Mayonnaise King of the South,” as I think that was his business and he must have talked to us a lot about it. There was also a review of the Saturday night concert in the local Montgomery newspaper. The review, by Judith Helms, commented on the “strong modern dancers” and said, “Kaddish with the accomplished dancer, Ms Mindlen as Soloist, was the most beautiful and powerful of the dances.”
We were up early Sunday morning to drive to New Orleans, where we performed at the Jewish Community Center that evening. And that is where the photo on eBay was part of the publicity for the concert. What stands out in my memory of that performance was that the technician running the lighting board left in the middle of one of the pieces, either to go to the bathroom or have a cigarette, and left me not only to call the cues but to figure out how to handle the light board.
After an intense three days with performances each night in a different city, the rest of the tour was easier. Monday was a day off, followed by a performance on Tuesday in Baton Rouge.
On Friday night we were part of the service at Temple Beth El in San Antonio, and having had some days off, we were refreshed for the performance. We also had some very nice home hospitality and got to enjoy a bit of sightseeing in San Antonio. A piece that Rick Jacobs and I had collaborated on, M’Vakshei Or, was a featured part of the service. That week’s Torah portion was Beshalach from Exodus which tells of the Jewish people’s crossing of the Red Sea. M’Vakshei Or had set choreography that opened and closed the piece. The middle section was an improvisation based on the week’s Torah portion. It was always great fun for me to watch these improvisations. I remember vividly Rick leaping off the bema and dancing up the aisle, bringing to mind the traditional midrash of Nachshon who, while others hesitated, boldly jumped into the water, helping the waters to part and the community to follow.
Our final performance was in Galveston, Texas and I remember how wonderful it was that after the performance we got to hang out in a hot tub and relax. Rick, Naomi and Dircelia flew back to New York City, and Roberta and I drove back to Tallahassee, during which trip we experienced a pretty intense rainstorm.
It has been very meaningful to me to keep in touch with dancers who shared their talent with Avodah. So let me catch you up on what the dancers mentioned in this blog are currently doing.
Di Rodin (Dircelia) lives in Hawaii and is the owner of Dance Movement Academy and K-Bay Gymnastics.
Lynne Elliot is a graphic designer living in New York City.
Nanette Joslyn King is a retired lawyer living in California.
Rick Jacobs (Rabbi) is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism based in New York City.
Roberta Behrendt Fliss was former Director of Production for Young Arts and now has her own company, Moonstone Management, and lives in Florida.
I close with these lines that Rick shared as part of our email exchange:
In my current role I’ve been back in many of the congregations and JCCs that we performed in. People still talk about our performances and services. Grateful for all the hearts Avodah opened.
And here is the original photo, from the Avodah Scrapbook:
From l. to r. Rick Jacobs, Lynne Elliott, Roberta Behrendt, Nanette Joslyn. Photo by Amanda Keglow.
Reading the description of the piece M’Vakshei Or (Seekers of Light) in publicity material for its first performance in Pittsburgh at Rodef Shalom, it is no surprise that it didn’t work. We tried to do too much in one piece. As I kept watching M’Vakshei Or in performance I knew that it wasn’t working the way we wanted it to. Rick and I decided to rework the piece. Avodah’s fall 1982 Newsletter describes what we did. Instead of five parts, the piece was now three parts: Part 1 – Meditation; Part II – an improvisation based on the weekly Torah portion; and Part III – Blessing. The first performance in the new format was at a lecture demonstration at the Hillel of the University of Texas in Austin and the second as part of a Friday evening service in Houston.
The Newsletter described:
JoAnne discussed how we create choreography on a Jewish theme. Each of the four dancers demonstrated a movement theme in Part 1 based on Jewish ritual. The audience then participated in a discussion on the weekly Torah portion and gave suggestions to the dancers for a series of improvisations. One improvisation was chosen and the work was performed. Comments afterwards indicated that this approach was quite enlightening in understanding not only M’Vakshei Or but other pieces in the repertory.
Our process was also described in a review a few months later on January 24, 1983 following a concert at Temple Beth-Or in Montgomery:
A portion of the account from Exodus of the Israelites being led out of Egypt by Moses and escaping the Egyptians through the Red Sea was told by Jacobs, after which Dr. Tucker asked the audience to select a scene for the ensemble to dance and also to cast the characters.
One of the improvisational pieces became part of M’Vakshei Or, a dance based on the Torah Service.
The new format worked wonderfully with Rick summarizing a part of the Torah portion so that the congregation or audience had background they needed to become part of the process. Sometimes Rick shared traditional commentaries on the portion as well as helping to come up with new ones. As we performed the piece in many different settings over the next few years some of our dance midrash improvisations stand out. One time in a concert at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s Los Angeles campus, one of the professors who knew Rick from his second and third year of rabbinic school at the LA campus insisted that we just be the ROCK that Jacob put his head on when he had the dream of the angels going up and down the ladder (Genesis 28:11). So we explored in movement the energy that the rock might have had.
Another memorable moment was at a congregation in San Antonio, TX when the week’s Torah portion related to crossing the Red Sea and Rick drew upon a traditional commentary and became Naashon, the person who initiated crossing the Red Sea. Rick boldly jumped off the bema and into the congregation!
Rabbi Edwin N. Soslow, (of blessed memory) wrote in his Rabbi’s Message, December 1983 (Temple Emanuel, Cherry Hill, NJ):
The improvisation which members in the congregation suggested on the Torah portion will never be forgotten. Whenever I study or speak about the meaning of the story of Abraham welcoming the three angels with their message about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the birth of Isaac, I will always remember how that message was portrayed in dance.
In addition to the middle section of the piece providing an educational opportunity to introduce the Torah portion of the week, the choreography based on ritual movement in the opening and closing sections gave us another teaching moment. As I mentioned earlier, each of the four dancers in the piece demonstrated a short phrase based on ritual movement prior to performing the piece. One dancer shared a phrase based on putting on the prayer shawl. Another dancer demonstrated in movement how the Torah is lifted following the weekly reading and turned so all may see the writing inside. A third dancer shared how the Torah is carried through the congregation and the fourth dancer shared a phrase of movement based on the letters in God’s name: yod, hay, vav, hay.
As I reread the comments I’ve shared here and having just watched a very old tape done in rehearsal for reconstruction purposes, I am reminded that editing and revising a piece and paring it down to the basics ended up creating a successful piece that continued in the company for years. It inspired a book (Torah in Motion: Creating Dance Midrashwith Rabbi Susan Freeman). We were invited to teach in summer institutes. We were guests in Rabbi Norman Cohen’s modern midrash classes at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. We led dance midrash classes in religious schools. We led workshops teaching others how to lead dance midrash based on Torah portions.
We even adapted the piece for a special event at a congregation. M’Vakshei Or was done at Westchester Reform Congregation honoring Rick on his 10thanniversary of service in June of 2001. I joined adult congregation members and danced in the opening and closing sections. Children from the religious school interested in dance did improvisations based on the Torah portion. The entire confirmation class (16-year olds) enthusiastically engaged in honoring their Rabbi. The following three photos are from the final rehearsal for the Friday night service.
JoAnne with Members of Westchester Reform Temple in M’Vakshei Or.
Young dancers from the Religious School of Westchester Reform Temple.
Part of the Confirmation Class of Westchester Reform Congregation.
As I am writing this week’s blog I am deeply grateful for the contribution Rick made in collaborating on the creation of M’Vakshei Or. As I watched the rehearsal video of the piece and then found myself looking at videos of other related repertory I am reminded of the incredibly talented dancers that have shared their gifts with Avodah. I am so grateful for their contributions both in helping to create the work they performed in and their outstanding performances. I extend a very deep bow of gratitude to these wonderfully talented individuals!
It is 1972. I am sitting in a hospital room in Tallahassee, Florida visiting Irving who has recently been hit in the eye with a tennis ball. His eyes are covered but he is alert and expected to be fine. His wife Anita has called and suggested I visit him as she is off to some kind of meeting and thought he might enjoy company. It is several weeks after Tradition and we haven’t gotten very far in any thoughts of what kind of musical we might collaborate on.
Irving asks me, “What do you think about God?” I make a face and am glad his eyes are covered. “I don’t think much about God,” I reply and then continue, explaining I don’t find much meaning in going to temple or sitting through most services. It just doesn’t connect for me. He suggests something like well… it is maybe the music that resonates for him. Before the visit is over we have decided to explore parts of the service in music and dance. Well that is a bit of a surprise for me… but I’m not opposed.
Over the next few weeks we begin to study the parts of the service, and we think the “Barchu”might be a good starting place. We discuss the moments in our own lives where we feel close to “God.” I find it is hard for me to write this 45 years later because my feminist nature no longer includes the word “God” in it. Even the words “Goddess” or the Jewish word for the feminine side of God – the Shekhina – don’t really reflect my current thinking. Most likely I would express the idea that it is in dance, and in being an artist, that I connect to a deeper place in myself and to others. That said… let me get back to sharing where I was at in 1972.
It soon became apparent that the ideal premiere of our dance/music “cantata” based on key parts of the traditional Jewish service would be for the dedication of a new sanctuary for Temple Israel planned for the following spring. That would give us plenty of time to develop the piece and to rehearse with members of the congregation and community. Together we developed a libretto and then Irving got busy writing the music and I got busy choreographing.
It had been quite a while since I had performed so I soon began taking classes again. Florida State University’s Dance Department proved to be an ideal place to get back in shape. Unfortunately I thought I was in better shape then I was and leaped a bit too high and in the landing severed my Achilles tendon. It proved to be just a few months’ setback and luckily I had driven myself to the hospital in time so that surgery was avoided and I was able to have the repair done by a foot-to-thigh cast. During this time I remember working with two young community members, Brian Berkowitz and Terri McOuat, in the family room of our house, choreographing for them, from my place on the sofa, a duet that became part of the “Barchu” section expressing the love between two people. Once the cast was removed, I had excellent physical therapy and got back to class… being more realistic about my technical dance ability.
Brian Berkowitz and Terri McOuat rehearsing duet from In Praise. Photo by Tallahassee Democrat, 1973
The program notes shared our thoughts:
In Praise is our statement in music, dance, and words of some of our feelings about God and the spirit of Judaism. We have selected essential parts of the traditional synagogue service as our framework. In the “Barchu” we see God in man and nature. The “Shema” depicts the strong historical roots of Judaism. “May the Words of Our Mouth” is a moment of personal prayer. The “Adoration” expresses mankind’s search for self-understanding and fulfillment.
Eight members of the Temple community sang in the piece, including Irving’s wife Anita and my husband Murray. Reuben Capelouto, Tevye from the production of Tradition, along with Irving’s brother Edwin also were part of the chorus. Some 40 years later, one of the singers, Alicia Novey (now Alicia Smith), sent me an email that she was living in Santa Fe where I now live. We are now good friends, each having changed in our individual ways from the time of In Praise yet feeling a very strong connection to each other.
Four dancers joined me. All four had limited dance training but total enthusiasm and willingness to participate.
There were many things I learned from this experience that served me well as I continued with Avodah. The first thing was how hard it was for a rabbi to change the furniture on the bema. And for dance to work we need space to move. After much discussion it ended up that we did two performances of In Praise. The first performance – for the actual dedication ceremony – limited furniture was moved. However, a week later we had a clear bema so that the dance was larger and could be fully seen. Over the years of integrating dance into the Friday night Reform service this became a regular challenge. I got better and better at finding ways to reassure the various rabbis that rearranging the bema would be OK (and that it would be best if temple officers were not sitting directly behind kicking dancers in a tight space) and that the congregation would accept the temporary changes. I even learned to quote Biblical text about sacred space to make my point.
Ten months later an article appeared in Reform Judaism (which went to all congregation members of Reform temples throughout the United States) describing the performance:
Tallahassee Congregation Dedicates
New Sanctuary with Creative Dance Cantata
The dedication of a new sanctuary is a joyous and precious event requiring a ceremony to fit the occasion.
Temple Israel of Tallahassee, Florida, dedicated its new house of worship with a magnificent dance cantata entitled “In Praise.” The work, conceived and written by Dr. Irving Fleet and Dr. JoAnne Tucker, dramatically proclaimed its authors’ feelings about God and Judaism. “Who is God?” asks one character. “God is some precious moments,” comes the reply.
The cantata was part of a regular worship service at the temple, enhancing the service through song, dance, and narrative. Beginning with the Barchu, the call to worship, the sights and sounds of a singing chorus, piano and organ, four dancers, and musical soloists lifted the congregation above the everyday into the spiritual realm:
From God comes all of life.
He is everywhere and everything
He is some very precious moments—
The sound of the woods,
The sun and the rain,
The sounds of a voice,
To feel and to touch.
Praised be the Lord forever and ever.
Dance segments of “In Praise” portrayed such themes as love for nature, the love of a man and a woman, and the tenderness of the mother-child relationship. Other highlights included an affirmation of the oneness of the Jewish people:
Through all ages
A scattered people.
These words bind us together,
These words carry us through the years.
And a hope for real concern among people:
May the time not be distant
When we see ourselves,
When we know each other.
Anyone interested in recreating this work may write to Temple Israel….
And write they did. Over the next year we received about 50 letters. I think we were both stunned by the strong interest. In the next blog I will write about our first performance out of town, in my hometown, Pittsburgh.
JoAnne in the “May the Words” solo from In Praise. Photo by Evelyn Walborsky
JoAnne in the “May the Words” solo from In Praise. Photo by Evelyn Walborsky