Yemen Blues Ravid

Breathtaking dance, hilarious comedy, a silent film screening with live music, prize-winning theatre and international music are highlights of the upcoming 13th Annual Chutzpah! Festival, the Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts. The 2013 festival will showcase a range of eclectic performances and workshops by international, Canadian, and local artists from February 7 to March 3.
 
The popular multi-faceted festival will open with an evening of dance featuring a Canadian premiere choreographed by Itzik Galili and danced by BC-born Lesley Telford and Spain’s Miguel Olivera. In addition, Brittle Failure, a new work by Lesley Telford with Japanese scenographer Yoko Seyama will be on the bill. Filling out the program will be BC’s own The 605 Collective.

Chutzpah! will also present a collaborative program that brings together the sensibilities of two cutting-edge dance companies, Sidra Bell Dance New York and San Francisco-based LEVYdance, offering audiences a true East Coast/West Coast experience.

Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company
[Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. Photo by Uri Nevo]

Zion, a beautiful duet by Israeli American choreographer Barak Marshall and performed by Vancouver’s own James Gnam and Rebecca Margolick will feature an opening performance by Israel’s Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, led by choreographer Rami Be’er.

Internationally celebrated music also forms a staple of Chutzpah’s programming. 2013’s featured artists will include:

Idan Raichel
[Idan Raichel. Photo by Barzi Goldblat]

– Israel/New York’s Yemen Blues: A fascinating mixture of traditional Yemenite melodies with blues, jazz and funk

Itamar Borochov Quartet: Internationally recognized for innovative jazz with its unique trumpet sound and Arabic/Pan-African musical sensibilities

Idan Raichel Project Acoustic Show: African, Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds, coupled with a spectacular live show, offering a message of love and tolerance

Klezmerata Fiorentina: An Italian klezmer group comprised of four principal players of a leading Italian symphony and opera orchestra

– Poland’s SHOFAR: Combines Hasidic music with free jazz

Olga Mieleszczuk Ensemble: A focus on Jewish music with Ashkenazi roots

War, Love and Loss: A concert of new works by the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra

Music in Internment: Co-presented with the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre

Touchstone Theatre's Haunted
[Patrick Sabongui and Kerry Sandomirsky in Haunted. Photo by David Cooper]
 
Touchstone Theatre’s Haunted, written by Daniel Karasik (winner of the 2011 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition) and directed by Katrina Dunn will feature prominently amongst Chutzpah’s theatre offerings.

Also worth checking out is Three Hysterical Broads Off Their Medication, a stand-up show that will give you an inside look at the comedic minds of three of the most insanely funny women to ever hit the stage: Judy Gold, Dana Eagle, and Cory Kahaney.

Chutzpah’s Artistic & Managing Director, Mary-Louise Albert says, “This year’s Festival features the return of some of our audiences’ favourite performers as well as new and exciting artists in dance, music and theatre. Once again we’re including free workshops and other outreach activities that strengthen our cultural connection with Lower Mainland schools and youth organizations and use the talents of our artists to foster cultural understanding and audience-building initiatives.”

A PDF brochure of the 2013 festival brochure can be downloaded here.

13th Annual Chutzpah! Festival
Dates: February 7 to March 3
Venues: Varied
Tickets: Single tickets $18 to $40; may be purchased online via Chutzpah! or Tickets Tonight.
Phone orders: Chutzpah! Box Office: 604.257.5145; Tickets Tonight: 604-684-2787
Chutzi Packs offers patrons a chance to see four different shows of their choice for $78 (excluding Yemen Blues, Idan Raichel Project, and Itamar Borochov Ensemble). Added for 2013 is the Chutzidance! Pack for $58: your choice of three different dance shows.
Note: Tickets for the Itamar Borochov Quartet are available only through Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club or by phoning 604.738.1959.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.