Join our monthly series celebrating The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance! Great for musicians, dancers, and enthusiasts to meet, schmooze, or simply to take in the beauty of these rich traditions. Bring your instruments and dancing shoes.
Our March workshop offers an afternoon of Klezmer, Balkan, and Romanian music and dance, taught by innovators and leaders in the Jewish Music community. This month, we also invite folks who would like to listen to music and watch dancing to join us, whether or not they wish to participate!
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The workshop will be taught by Peter Bonos and Bruce Bierman, and feature Orchestra Euphonos with special guest Ionela Guzic.
Meet our guest teachers:
Peter Bonos plays trumpet, oud, and euphonium in a variety of musical styles, including Klezmer, Balkan brass, and Turkish music. He produces The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal, a monthly concert series at the Starry Plough. He is a founding member of the Balkan brass band Fanfare Zambaleta and is the bandleader of Orchestra Euphonos, an instrumental Eastern European folk ensemble specializing in Moldovan music and Klezmer. He has also performed and collaborated with Alaturca Connection, Zirzuvi, Kali Orkestar, Duygu Gün, and many more artists in the Bay Area Balkan, Klezmer, and Turkish music scene.
Bruce Bierman is a celebrated Jewish dance master, theater director, and arts educator. He is co-artistic director of the award-winning Yiddish Theatre Ensemble in Berkeley where he has directed and choreographed The Megilleh of Itzik Manger for the Berkeley Jewish Music Festival, Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, and most recently Between Worlds starring Naomi Newman. He served as Yiddish dance and theater dramaturg for Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning play, Indecent at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, and the most recent production at the San Francisco Playhouse which YTE also co-produced. Bruce was also a lead dancer and teaching artist with the Los Angeles Aman Folk Ensemble bringing world music and dance to youth throughout the L.A. Unified School District.
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Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased via the Eventbrite link below or at the door on the day of the event.
Kids 12 and under are free.
Full series tickets: Register here
Single session tickets:
March 23, 2025 – Peter Bonos and Bruce Bierman
April 27, 2025 – Dror Sinai, Rachel Valfer, and Bruce Bierman
May 18, 2025 – To be announced
The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance is co-presented by JCC East Bay and KlezCalifornia, and funded in part by a generous grant from the KlezCalifornia Yiddish Culture Fund.
