Title: Skotsl Kumt
Premiere: December 5, 1999. Commissioned and performed by the Festival Dancers, Handleman Auditorium. Jewish Community Center, West Bloomfield, MI., for the occasion of Harriet Berg’s 75th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the Festival dancers. Subsequently performed by the Festival Dancers throughout Southeast Michigan at such locations at various elementary schools, The Institute for Retired Professionals, and the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit.
Duration: 6 minutes
Dancers: 7 performers, ranging in age from 45-77, including some of the following: Margo Cohen, Patty Ceresnie, Maggie Jobin, Shelly Krochmal, Michelle Millman, Pat XXX, Arlene XXX, Beth XXX
Music: Mai Nozipo (Mother Nozipo) by Dumisani Maraire with recorded spoken text based upon an Eastern European Jewish folk tale
Description: This work was created for a group of seven adult women, all members of the Festival Dancers, a dance group directed at the time by Harriet Berg at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. It is based upon an Eastern European folk talk that emphasizes women and community and the hope for a more powerful voice for women within the Jewish religion. The dance closely followed the action described in the text, which is included in The Jewish Spirit, edited by Ellen Frankel, as retold by Beatrice Weinreich and translated by Leonard Wolf. The text of the story was recorded as part of the score for the dance work.