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.
This month, we will explore Yeminite music and dance traditions.
During the first 90 minutes, participants can choose between spaces to learn multi-ethnic music and dance technique and styles. Participants will all come together for a 30 minute dance party focusing on the dances and tunes taught in the prior hour. The remaining segment will be an informal music jam in one or more of the classroom spaces at the JCC East Bay.
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Meet our guest teachers:
Dror Sinai is a percussionist and healing music expert. He is a pioneer in the fields of world percussion, Chi Gong, and the exploration of music as a therapeutic tool. Over the years Dror Has presented lectures, clinics, workshops, residencies to diverse audiences including universities, schools, community gatherings, and congregations. Dror played , performed and presented around the world solo and collaborated with other wonderful and famous Musicians and Bands including: Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Yair Dalal, Yuval Ron, Al Moalem Mahmoud Guinea.
Rachel Valfer is a passionate singer and oud (Arabic lute) player who brings depth of feeling to every song. She studied Maqam and Persian dastgah modal systems in Israel and Palestine for six years at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and sings with several ensembles in the Bay Area. Gifted in the art of language, Rachel sings in Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, Greek, Turkish, Ladino, and Armenian.
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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Single session tickets: Sliding scale $25-54
Full series ticket: $180
Full series tickets: Register here
Single session tickets:
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.
