About
KlezKanada and the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies at Concordia University are convening a Yiddish Dance Conference in Montreal from August 27-29, 2025. The event will include panels, discussion sessions, practice-based workshops, and evening community events. This conference will dovetail with the disciplinary focus on Yiddish dance at KlezKanada’s Summer Retreat and is presented in partnership with the Klezmer Institute and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.
This conference aims to bring together key scholar-practitioners of Yiddish dance and Yiddish dance music to:
- Discuss the state of the field in terms of research and practice;
- Consider how the field has changed and advanced in the past 15 years (since the 2007 conference on Yiddish dance convened by CTMD);
- Identify new directions and emerging styles in the discipline.
Schedule
Please note that the schedule times change each day. All programming is subject to change. A full list of presenter bios and abstracts can be downloaded here.
Registration is required for most programming. Use the form below to register for the conference.
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
9-10:30 AM Session #1
Panel: Sites of Transmission
Moderator: Avia Moore
Panelists: Jill Gellerman, Pete Rushefsky, Yeva Lapsker
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
11 AM -12:30 PM Session #2
Keynote: Michael Alpert – Freylekhs is a state of mind
Respondent: Avia Moore
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
2-3 PM Session #3
Talk and Workshop: Liturgical Choreography
Speaker: Sarah Myerson
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
3:30-5:30 PM Session #4
Movement Panel/Workshop: I Dance to My Own Rhythm: Teaching the Heterogestic in Embodied contexts
Panelists: Avia Moore, Deborah Strauss, Michael Alpert, Judy Sweet
Location: Onsite only. Registration required.
8 PM (Doors at 7:30 PM) Tantshoyz!
Location: Sala Rossa, 4848 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal
Tickets: $20 (with the option for PWYC). Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance through Sala Rossa.
Thursday, August 28, 2025
9-10:00 AM Session #5
Panel: Expanding Creative Legacy on the Adapted Dance Floor
Moderator: Sonia Gollance
Panelists: Rosza Daniel Lang/Levitsky and hadar ahuvia, Steve Weintraub
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
10:15 AM -12 PM Panel Session #6
Panel: Translating Yiddish Dance into Contemporary Choreography
Moderator: Miranda Crowdus
Panelists: Or Levison, hadar ahuvia, Bruce Bierman, Steve Weintraub
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
1:00-2:30 PM Session #7a - CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS
Focused Techniques in Accompanying Yiddish Dance: A Hands-On Workshop for Klezmer Musicians and Yiddish Singers
Deborah Strauss and Cantor Jeff Warschauer
Level: intermediate through advanced/professional
Location: Onsite only. Registration required.
1:15-2:30 PM Session #7b
Panel: Yiddish Screendance from Documentation to Dance Partner
Discussants: Yael Horowitz, Magdalena Hutter, Karen Goodman
Moderator: Philip Szporer
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
2:45-3:45 Session #8
Workshop: Overlap between Yiddish, Greek and Sephardic Dance
Speaker: Erik Bendix
Location: Onsite only. Registration required.
4-5:30 PM Session #9
Movement Roundtable: Considering the Experience of Embodiment
Moderator: Clara Byom
Panelists: TBA
Location: Onsite only. Registration required.
7:30 PM Dinner and Discussion Salon
Advanced tickets required, booked through conference registration or at the check-in table (space permitting).
Salon Topics: Developing Pedagogical Resources for the Study and Practice of Yiddish Dance
Friday, August 29, 2025
9-10 AM Session #10
Panel: Intersections with Dance Cultures
Moderator: Erik Bendix
Panelists: Miryam Coppersmith, Ari Libove-Goldfarb
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
10:15 AM -11:15 PM Session #11
Talk: Not just freylekhs–Emotions and the Yiddish Literary Dance Floor
Speaker: Sonia Gollance
Location: Onsite and Online. Registration required.
11:30 AM-12:30 PM Session #12
Closing Discussion
Registration Form
KlezKanada // Concordia University – Montreal, Canada
KlezKanada and the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies at Concordia University are convening a Yiddish Dance Conference in Montreal from August 27-29, 2025. The event will include panels, discussion sessions, practice-based workshops, and evening community events. This conference will dovetail with the disciplinary focus on Yiddish dance at KlezKanada’s Summer Retreat and is presented in partnership with the Klezmer Institute and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.
This conference aims to bring together key scholar-practitioners of Yiddish dance and Yiddish dance music to:
Discuss the state of the field in terms of research and practice;
Consider how the field has changed and advanced in the past 15 years (since the 2007 conference on Yiddish dance convened by CTMD);
Identify new directions and emerging styles in the discipline.
We invite proposals for panels, papers, and studio workshops related to the following subjects:
Historical and evolving aesthetics of Yiddish dance
Methodological approaches to transmitting gestural vocabulary and repertoire
The embodied experience of dancing Yiddish dance, both solo and collective repertoires, and how that experience translates into expression
The dynamic tension between community and individual in Yiddish dance, and pedagogical approaches to transmitting this aspect of the discipline
New directions and emerging styles in the discipline
Communication between musicians and dancers, both in solo dancing and group context
Playing for dancing and dancing for playing
Other subjects related to Yiddish dance in the context of the goals above
Deadline: July 8, 2025
Our hope is that this will also be an opportunity to:
Discuss research priorities for the future of the field;
Establish peer working groups with a focus on better dissemination of publicly available pedagogical materials and the creation of new pedagogical materials;
Form an advisory group for an online project for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating educational material.
The conference will be held at Concordia University, which will facilitate hybrid options for those unable to travel to Montreal. The conference will be recorded and archived as part of a wider pedagogical initiative on the subject. A limited amount of financial assistance is available for those who would otherwise be unable to attend.
Questions may be directed to Avia Moore, Artistic Director KlezKanada
avia [dot] moore [at] klezkanada [dot] org.