Dance to it Sunday at Brandeis
By Susie Davidson
Advocate Correspondent
WALTHAM - Emma Goldman once said, “If I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution.” Given the current state of world affairs, it would seem there isn’t much occasion to dance, yet Brandeis’ Shulamit Reinharz and Sheila Clawson are seeing otherwise. The two women, Jacob Potofsky Professor of Sociology and Research Associate at the Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women, respectively, have organized a dance festival this Sunday evening to celebrate Purim, Spring, and National Women’s Month. The First Annual Dance for Women and their Friends, to take place from 8-10 p.m. at the Levin Ballroom in the USDAN building, will incorporate virtually all types of dance - Motown, Swing, Israeli Dance, Salsa, Ballroom, Disco, and more, in both freestyle form as well as in line dances and danskinetics facilitated by instructors.
“I've noticed that at ‘simchas’ and other occasions where there is dancing, the women are much more likely to want to dance then the men are,” said Reinharz, who has observed that women often ultimately dance with each other, in pairs or groups. “In other cases, if the man does not want to dance, the woman may end up not dancing at all,” she said, noting that women who attend without a partner, may miss out as well.
To compensate, the Women's Studies Research Center, which Reinharz founded in 2001, along with the HIRIJW, which she founded in 1997, decided to put on this dance, for women and their friends. “Although the dance is geared for women, we will not exclude men from coming,” she said. “But they must be ‘invited to the dance by a woman.’ Women alone or in groups are encouraged to come as well; Reinharz said that it is different from a ‘Sadie Hawkins’ dance where women are supposed to ask men. Rather, at this dance, women are not beholden to have a male partner.
The décor will be produced by WSRC Art-Educator-in-Residence Robin Dash, who will fashion them from quotes by women on the meaning of dance in their lives. “Dancing is great for the spirit,” Reinharz said. “Most people smile when they dance, they expend energy, they enjoy the music, and they interact in positive ways with others. Dancing, one of the best forms of exercise, is performed all over the world, and takes many cultural forms.”
The dance will be held two days following the official first day of spring, in the annual month-long National Women’s Month. In honor of Purim, which occurs on the happy month of Adar, when a Jewish Queen was victorious over evil, hamentaschen will be served as well as other light refreshments. “We wanted the dance to be in honor of these three things, so that people from different backgrounds would feel connected to it,” Reinherz stressed. A female DJ, ironically named D.J., will mix records, and tambourines will be offered as well.
Born in Amsterdam, Reinharz, a child of Holocaust survivors, directed the Women's Studies Program from 1992-2001 and designed the 10,000 square-foot center where the HIRIJW and the WSRC are housed. She received her B.A. from Barnard College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis, and has authored four books including Feminist Methods in Social Research, published by Oxford University Press, is the editor of the book series Brandeis Series on Jewish Women, and co-edits the academic journal Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues. Recipient of many awards, she is married to Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz and has two children, Yali, 24, and Naomi, 19.
Clawson holds a Masters in Social Work in Gerontology and Planning/Management from Boston University and a Masters in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis. The mother of a 31-year-old son, she has served as Assistant Director of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, Project Coordinator of Senior-Serve at the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Director of Adult and Senior Adult Services at the Jewish Community Center, and Director of the Social Worker Liability Project at National Association of Social workers. She had co-led numerous groups for women and elders.
The First Annual Dance for Women and Their Friends will be held from 8-10 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at Levin Ballroom in the Usdan Building on the Brandeis campus. People of all generations are invited. The cost is $2 for students and $10 for others. There is plenty of free parking, and signs to direct guests to the parking lot and dance floor. Please RSVP to Colleen Eagen at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandies University at ceagan@brandeis.edu or call 781-736-8100.
Brandeis University invites women and their friends to celebrate Purim,
Spring, and National Women's Month with an evening of joyous dance. This
community wide event will take place on Sunday, March 23 from 8-10 p.m. at the Levin Ballroom, USDAN Building, Brandeis University. Participants will
sway to the rhythm of Motown, Swing, Israeli Dance, Salsa, Ballroom, Disco
and more. In addition to freestyle dancing, facilitators will lead line
dancing and danskinetics. Women of all abilities are encouraged to bring
their friends and just come and have a good time! Co-chairs of this event are
Shula Reinharz and Sheila Clawson.
The event is sponsored by the Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center, the Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women, The Brandeis Women's Studies Department, The Brandeis Theater Department, The Brandeis Women's Publication, and the Brandeis student run Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. Admission is $10 for adults and $2 for students.