"Golem", A street perfomance by Shadowland Theatre at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto (2012)

Shadowland Theatre at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto (Gustavo Thomas © 2012)

Every two years Toronto celebrates the Ashkenaz Festival, and one of its main events is the performance and parade, in the end of the festival, by Shadowland Theatre, on one subject referent to the Ashkenaz culture.

"Golem", by Shadowland Theatre at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto (Gustavo Thomas © 2012)

This year the theme was "the golem", that mythical monster of the Renaissance Praga, which once he is alive gets mad and kills everyone who's not a believer, and the only thing could stop his fury is being in love.

"Golem", by Shadowland Theatre at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto (Gustavo Thomas © 2012)

Shadowland Theatre works using giant puppets, Klezmer musicians and non professional actors who are volunteers from the Jewish community of Toronto.

Slideshow of photographs from the "Golem" performance in Toronto

Texts, photographs and videos in this Blog are all author's property, except when marked. All rights reserved by Gustavo Thomas. If you have any interest in using any text, photograph or video from this Blog, for commercial use or not, please contact Gustavo Thomas at gustavothomastheatre@gmail.com.

Ashkenaz Festival 2010 in Toronto (1): 3 Dance and Music Performances

¿In which part of the World you can experiment Jewish culture without feeling you are not part of it? Aside of New York and (maybe) Israel itself, almost everywhere in the world Jewish communities are closed to other eyes, and that's it. Well, not in Toronto. 

Jews are a very strong community here and also a very active one. Just months ago there was an impressive Jewish film festival with a large quantity of Jewish-subject and Jewish-made films, and every September the whole city celebrates Jewish Culture with a festival called Ashkenaz Festival or Festival of New Yiddish Culture (as it was called in Yiddish). During more or less an entire week there are theatre performances, music concerts, dance performances and lessons, parades, a market fair, painting exhibitions, lectures, and religious ceremonies with a relevant openness to non-Jews that most of us have never experimented before.

Jewish artists and celebrities from all over the world come here for the festival and party and talk with everyone who wants to listen to or dance with or learn from, and that is simply amazing. 

So I tried a little bit of everything and I had many surprises. I'm sharing some photographs of every spectacle and there is a video or audio when I could record something. Of course the final event, the parade, is what I wanted to show in this theatre Blog but it will be at the next post, for now the three first performances.

Yiddish dance lessons

Slideshow: Yiddish Dance Lesson at Azhkenaz Festival 2010

Very surprised how Avia Moore managed to teach a 20-minute Yiddish Dance to almost 60 people; the music by Mike Winograd Band was very enjoyable, funny and cheerful.

Video: Yiddish Dance Lesson at Ashkenaz Festival 2010

Yiddish Dance Lesson at Toronto Ashkenaz Festival 2010 from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Elaine Hoffman Watts and the Fabulous Shpielkes concert

Slideshow: Eliane Watts and The Fabulous Shpielkes at Ashkenaz Festival 2010

This was a concert of Blues-style Klezmer Music with an eighty years old drummer grandma and a fantastic band.

Video:  Eliane Watts and The Fabulous Shpielkes at Ashkenaz Festival 2010 (1)

Elaine Hoffman Watts & The Fabulous Shpielkes Concert at Ashkenaz Festival (video 2) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Video:  Eliane Watts and The Fabulous Shpielkes at Ashkenaz Festival 2010 (2)

Elaine Hoffman Watts & The Fabulous Shpielkes Concert at Ashkenaz Festival (video 1) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.



Havdallah Ceremony

Slideshow: Havdallah, during Ashkenaz Festival 2010

A celebration of the Havdallah, the final ceremony of every Shabbath when religiosity and seriousness mix with a klezmer night party. Here the whole ceremony recorded in 4 tracks, it is very enjoyable but long, if you are patient you'll find how surprising and amazing it is the change of music style through the religious chants of the first ceremony to the joyful music at the end when the Shabbath has finished. If you are in a hurry, then listen to the 3rd track where is recorded the moment of the change of music I am talking about.

Havdallah (first track)

Havdallah (second track)

 

Havdallah (third track)

 

Havdallah (fourth track)