Query about Russian Jewish Ballroom Dancers

[Sasha Senderovich]

There is a 2006 Israeli film called "Sipur hatzi-rusi" (in Hebrew the title
means "A Half-Russian Story"), which was shown in a number of festivals in
the US under the English title "Love and Dance." The film is about dance
classes taught by a couple who are former Soviet dance champions in an
Israeli city some time after their emigration, probably in the 1990s or
2000s. The couple's story is of unfulfilled potentials - I can't remember
exactly whether they talk about anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union which they
left, but it's likely part of the story.
Here is the film synopsis from the International Movie Database site,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814197
"Chen, a young kid, is battling a cultural conflict between his Russian born
mother and Israeli father. She is cultured and used to the finer things in
life, including theater and fine dining. He is gruff on the outside but
sweet on the inside - a Sabra; and looking to make his young son a man
rather than the wimp his mother is raising. One day, Chen stumbles upon a
ballroom dance class for young people and sees Natalie, a stunning Russian
young girl he falls in love with immediately. His interest in Natalie leads
him to taking ballroom dancing and to ultimately bridging the cultural
divide of his own family - through the Cha Cha and the Tango. The teachers
are a pair of former Russian world champions who never quite fulfilled their
potential, but find themselves battling their demons through the
instructions of the kids."

Best,
Sasha Senderovich

======================
Sasha Senderovich, PhD Candidate
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Harvard University
senderov at fas.harvard.edu
On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 11:06 PM, <trubikhina at aol.com> wrote:

> Hi Ben,
>
> While I don't know anything about dance specifically, your colleague might
> want to take a look at a very interesting article by Irina Isaakyan in
> "Nationalities papers," Vol.36, No 5 (November 2008). It both theorizes and
> provides statistical data for the state institutionalized anti-semitism
> during the Brezhnev era, albeit in the academic circles.  However, the
> statistical (quota) approach was the same for all areas, including
> performance arts and dance. The essay also includes evidence based on many
> hours of interviews with Russian non-Jewish and Russian Jewish academics
> many of whom emigrated to Israel,the US, and Canada.
> The title is "Blood and Soil of the Soviet Academy: Politically
> Institutionalized Anti-Semitism in the Moscow Academic Circles of the
> Brezhnev Era..."
>
> best,
>
> Julia
>
>
>
> ----------------------------
> Julia Trubikhina, PhD
> New York University
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Benjamin Rifkin <brifkin at TEMPLE.EDU>
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Sent: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:42 pm
> Subject: [SEELANGS] Query about Russian Jewish Ballroom Dancers
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear SEELANGers:
>
> A colleague of mine in sociology at Temple is working on a book on ballroom
> dancing and has questions about Jewish ballroom dancers from Russia and
> Ukraine and issues of anti-semitism.  Her message is appended below.
>
> If any of you have any thoughts on this matter and would be willing to
> correspond directly with my colleague, Dr. Julia Ericksen,
> julia at temple.edu,
> I would very much appreciate it.
>
> Please note that she does not speak or read Russian.
>
> With thanks,
>
> Ben Rifkin
>
>
> ------ Forwarded Message
> From: "Julia A. Ericksen" <julia at temple.edu>
> Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:35:02 -0400
> To: Ben Rifkin <brifkin at temple.edu>
>
> I need a reference for a book I am writing about ballroom dancing and
> wonder
> if you can help me.  Many of the top dancers are immigrants and a good many
> of them are Jewish.  They came in during the eighties and nineties as
> refugees.  Some came later having gone to Israel first.  Do you know of a
> good reference about Russian Jewish Immigrants to the US?
>
> I have been told that the reason top dancers from Russia and its former
> satellites like the Ukraine are frequently Jews is that they went into
> ballroom  because of the anti-Semitism in ballet.  Do you know anything
> about this?
>
> ------ End of Forwarded Message
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                   http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                   http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------