PLEASE NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO CLASSES NOVEMBER 6, 2012! 

FALL 2012: Tuesdays · 7-8:30pm · Oct 16th-Dec 4th, (8 sessions) 

Instructor: Bruce Bierman
Location:  Workmen's Circle, 1525 S. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles 90035

Join the circle with renowned Yiddish dance master, Bruce Bierman, and discover the nearly forgotten folk dance that is currently making a miraculous comeback.   Learn the steps, stylings and expressive hand gestures to the Freylekh, Joc, Chossidle, Bulgar, Sher, and Patsh Tanz. This six week class will culminate in a special Yiddish musical evening with live klezmer music and dance on Thursday December 6th! 

Presented by SoCal Arbeter Ring/Workmen's Circle. Co-sponsored by the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language and Yiddishkayt.  

* All levels welcome.  Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
* Tuesdays November 20th and 27th, and December 4th 7-8:30pm 

* Special Khanike Freylekh on December 6th, OPEN TO ALL!

Bruce Bierman is one of the leading specialists in Klezmer dance in California and has studied with several Yiddish dance masters in New York, Poland and Israel. Bruce has been a leading presenter of participatory Yiddish dance for major festivals, performances and conferences across the U.S. including the Berkeley Jewish Music Festival, KlezCalifornia, and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. He has also led dance to some of the top klezmer bands in the country including the grammy award-winning Klezmatics and Veretski Pass.

Don't miss this private concert, sponsored by the 20s/30s Havurah at BCC, featuring the band COYOTE GRACE in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual international day to remember those who have been lost to anti-transgender violence and hatred, and to bring our community together in celebration of all that we have to offer the world.

At once radically progressive and unashamedly nostalgic, Coyote Grace is at the forefront of a growing movement to redefine the meanings of "roots" and "tradition." The band combines virtuosic musicianship with a warm stage presence, all stemming from a history of self-invention and re-invention. This is perhaps no more evident than in the case of guitarist, songwriter and transman Joe Stevens, whose gender transition resolved a lifetime of dissonance between being raised as female while identifying as male. Not without cost, Joe's transition closed some doors while opening many others, and significantly informs his songwriting and performance. Coyote Grace has produced four albums and performed three separate tours opening for and playing alongside the Indigo Girls.

Pre-purchased Tickets are $15 for members, $18 for non-members. At the door: $18 for members, $20 for non-member. For more information and ticketing details, visit our event page on Facebook. Please invite your friends. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Shpil: The Art of Playing Klezmer is both a history of this popular form of traditional Jewish music and an instructional book for professional and amateur musicians. Since the revival of klezmer music in the United States in the mid-1970s, Yiddish songs and klezmer dance melodies have served as the soundtrack for a resurgence of interest in Ashkenazic Jewish culture across the globe. Klezmer has taken root not only in America's major urban centers-New York City, Chicago, San Francisco-but also in emerging Jewish music hotspots like St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Krakow, and Tokyo. Its high energy, emotionally driven sound, and evocative Yiddish lyrics have found audiences everywhere.

 Shpil offers an expansive history of klezmer, from its medieval origins to the present era, and its contributors encompass a cast of world-renowned musicians who have recorded, performed, and studied klezmer for years. Individual chapters concentrate on the most common instruments found in a klezmer ensemble-violin, clarinet, accordion, bass, percussion, and voice-and conclude with a selection of three songs that illustrate and exemplify the history and techniques of that instrument. Shpil includes a glossary and a discography of both classic and new klezmer and Yiddish recordings, all designed to guide readers in an appreciation of this remarkable musical genre and the art of playing and singing klezmer tunes.

 Shpil: The Art of Playing Klezmer is ideal for amateur enthusiasts, musical scholars, beginning artists, and professional musicians, both solo and ensemble-indeed, anyone who wants to experience the joy of listening to and playing this thousand-year-old folk music. 

October 2012 * 160 pages

978-0-8108-8291-1 * $45.00 * Paperback

Click here to order.