Arts is Entertainment Carrier Of Culture Renowned choreographer visits Michigan with examples of Sephardic story dances. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News 11 udith Brin Ingber is a choreog- rapher-dancer not satisfied with performance alone. She enjoys teaching about dance and writing about dance, especially when the style is Sephardic. Ingber will be combining all her pro- fessional interests during a visit to Michigan in mid-July. A dance presen- tation will be joined with a slide-based talk 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Dance workshops will be held 10 a.m.-noon Friday, July 15, and 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the JCC. In private, there will be a meeting with representatives of the Wayne State University Press to discuss her upcom- ing book, a compilation of essays about Jewish dance. "I will be doing three dances from my repertoire and giving a talk with some very beautiful historical slides I collected in Israel and in my travels to Sephardic areas," says the Minneapolis resident, whose free appearance com- plements the exhibit Jewish Costumes in the Ottoman Empire, on view through July 28 at the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery. "I will cover what suggests Sephardic celebration and dance, specifically over time. I have had the privilege of travel- ing to Istanbul and meeting some of the performers there. I showed them some of my work, and they said it was exactly the way they imagined it would be if their mothers still danced." 41 Ingber, whose Michigan visit was encouraged by the JCC Festival Dancers under the direction of Harriet Berg, will perform three works to recordings — all communicating sto- ries. The first, which has her dressed in an embroidered and colorful silk cloak she bought in Istanbul and understands is from the Ottoman Period, relates the tale of an instant romantic attraction. The second has to do with a fisher- man's infatuation with a woman seen in a tower. The third is likely to be about an aphrodisiac. "It's great fun to do these story dances," says Ingber, who has studied and directed dance in Israel. "I do put together a theatrical vision, but there's something that bases it on a real key within a Sephardic woman's way of moving or some image in a song, and it's very common that Sephardic songs reflect family troubles or arguments." Ingber, about 60, became interested in Sephardic music while living in Israel during the early 1970s, when she worked with the Batsheva Dance Company and the Inbal Dance Theatre. She had studied dance in Minnesota and at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she went on to perform and write for profession- al magazines. "I was part of a team called the Israel Ethnic Dance Project, and we would record interviews with dance masters in the ethnic community," explains Ingber, who met people from Morocco, Turkey and Yemen. "This was a joint project with the SPOSITA'S 10% OFF OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! OUR NEW HOURS Saturday 4pm- 11 pm 7/ 7 2005 40 Sunday 3pm-9pm For price and size information, call Pam at 248.354.6060 ext. 219 or use the online order form at: www.detroitjewishnews.com/reprints ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER • EXPIRES 07/31/05 IN MI EMI MIL Monday-Thursday 4pm- #10pm Friday 'I 'I am-11 pm Judith Brin Ingber will perform in a free program 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at the West Bloomfield JCC. She will conduct workshops for dancers 10 a.m.-noon Friday, July 15, and 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the JCC. $5 in advance for Festival Dancers/$8 at the door for Festival Dancers and others. (248) 432-5577. You can order reprints of photos and articles that have appeared in any of our publications. IMON-THURS. ONLY) PLEASE PRESENT THIS COUPON I TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT! I "I feel that my work is helpful to Jewish organizations," says Ingber, the wife of an immigration lawyer and the mother of two grown sons. "One of the wonderful things about my dance work is that it connects me to Jewish com- munities wherever I go. It's a big bless- ing to me to feel that I'm a carrier of culture and a connector through cul- ture." ❑ Was your mug in the Jewish News? Would you like a copy of the photo or artide for framing? I TOTAL FOOD BILL Fine Italian Dining in a Casual Atmosphere Judith Ingber What a Shayner Ponim!! Now Open Fridays for Lunch RISTORANTE Folklore Department at Hebrew University [in Jerusalem], and I got quite a marvelous introduction to Sephardic culture. It was very different from the Ashkenazic culture I knew [growing up in] Minnesota. "Sephardic dancing is not removed from celebration, and the women keep the tradi- tion of dancing with each other and in groups in a very lively way. There's a pretty unbroken line of acknowledging the curves and beauty of the woman's body and letting it shine in a gather- ing. It's a more sensual way of dancing than the Ashkenazic, which tends to be bigger, organized group dancing." Ingber, who spent five years in Israel and has returned every year since to do research and find new inspiration, cre- ated a performance company, Voices of Sepharad, upon moving back to America in the 1970s. The troupe has appeared in a Michigan folk festival. Recent writing assignments have included a piece on contemporary Jewish dance for the Encyclopedia Judaica and an article on Jewish women dancers in America for an on-line ency- clopedia maintained in Jerusalem. Ingber, daughter of prayer book writer and poet Ruth Brin, belongs to both Conservative and Reconstructionist congregations. 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