KlezKabaret (21+) | Part of Klezmer on Ice

Join us for a heymish evening of klezmer dance music and Yiddish performances at KlezKabaret; showcasing the burgeoning community of artists reviving Klezmer music and Yiddish culture in the Twin Cities. We'll start with a dance lesson featuring an all-star klezmer band. Then, the Bagel Sisters, our hosts for the evening, will introduce an array of short performances from artists pushing the boundaries of modern Jewish identity, deeply rooted in Yiddish tradition. We'll close the night with more live klezmer music and dancing! 

21+ | This event will be in the ballroom at Fraternal Order of Eagles #34. Mixed seating and standing. The venue features a full-service kitchen (open until 9 pm) and a bar (open until 1 am). Parking lot and street parking available. 
 

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8 pm: Doors open, dance lesson with live band (Ilya Shneyveys, Jake Shulman-Ment, Richie Barshay)

9 pm: KlezKabaret hosted by the Bagel Sisters

After: More live klezmer music and dancing!

1 am: Bar closes

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Part of Klezmer on Ice; the Twin Cities' second annual wintertime celebration of Eastern European Jewish music and culture. Featuring a headliner concert by international klezmer supergroup FORSHPIL at the Cedar Cultural Center on Feb 4. For more information about Klezmer On Ice and the full lineup of events (1/31 - 2/4), visit klezmeronice.com.

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About the hosts:

The Bagel Sisters were born to host the Klezmer on Ice Kabaret. Literally. That was the initial mandate of this performance duo, but they had such a good time working together they decided to keep going. They’ve since performed at the Jewish Comedy Festival of the Twin Cities, BONK, and KlezKanada, and produced and hosted an off-season Kabaret called Gefilthy Fish. They’re working on their first film.

 

Or (Laura) Levinson (they/them), is a Minneapolis-based dancer and performance artist blending elements of original choreography with live music, participatory ritual and song. Their most recent project, DOIKAYT: gedenktentz, was an interactive outdoor performance featuring klezmer music, Yiddish folk dance, and themes of Jewish diaspora and the search for home, belonging, and solidarity on Dakota land. Past workshops and performances have included DUMPSTER FIRE: An Evening of Queer and Trans Performance at Franconia Sculpture Park; DOIKAYT: a performance-ritual of the diaspora at Minnehaha Creek; and Swimming Home, a workshop co-created with Palestinian-American choreographer Leila Awadallah and following the threads of diaspora, ancestry, and body-as-homeland.

rafa kern (he/him, pronounced HAH-fah with a soft H like in human) is a Brazilian Ashkenazi Jew who calls Minneapolis home forever for now. He is a producer, director and performer who has done all kinds of weird things in São Paulo, Jerusalem, New York, New Haven, and the SF Bay area, in addition to the Twin Cities. He is currently producing the Bagel Sisters' first movie and working on his first novel. On the side, he is completing his PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at Stanford, where he studies the religious experiences of progressive Jews studying traditional texts.
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Photos courtesy of Ethan Roberts Photography and Josh Rosard.

Klezmer on Ice is made possible in part with the support of Folk Will Save Us, Minnesota JCC, Beth Jacob Congregation, J-Pride, and the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.