Yiddish Song
I teach repertoire classes, songwriting workshops, and classes about Yiddish song and Yiddish culture more broadly.
I have taught for festivals including KlezKanada and Yiddish New York, and for many community groups.
Yiddish Dance
I have years of experience leading Yiddish dance for private parties, concerts, holiday celebrations, dance workshops and other multigenerational community events.
The room quieted as Adah Hetko, a local klezmer and Yiddishist, herded us together.
My shyness loosened; I fell in line with the music. Each of us carried the other, leading and following in a chain…
Around 10 p.m., sweat breaking on my brow and cheeks pained from smiling, the class ended. I stumbled out into the damp night laughing, giddy from endorphins
Published Translations
“Fisher’s Song”
Translation of Aliza Greenblatt’s “Fisher Lid” in the liner notes of Precious Collection, recorded by Fran and Flora, 2024.
“Mama Goes Where Papa Goes”
Translation of Sophie Tucker’s “Di mame geyt vu der tate geyt,” published in How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish, edited by Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert, 2020.
“Sing in Yiddish”
Translation of Arkady Gendler’s “Zingt af yidish,” published in “Radiant Jargon,” a chapbook published by The Yiddish Book Center, 2019.
What I wasn’t expecting was Adah Hetko’s hilarious English-language translation/adaptation of ‘Shnirele Perele’.
‘Shnirele Perele’ had already undergone its own composed, musical reinvention and then re-entered the Jewish music world as a new folk song. Adah’s was just another link in that chain.
I guess I’m just lucky to know the folk behind the folk songs.