Songs for Women, Songs for Men
Photos: Torian Ugworji
Choreography: Hallie Chametzky
Dancers and Collaborators: Sara Adams, Farron Anderson, Octavia Christopher, Sara Dellinger, Marissa Forbes, Alicia Olivo, Danielle Simmons
Lighting Design: Amy Ariel
Music: Excerpt of “Prologue and Main Title” from Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock; "Yiddisher March" performed by Joseph Cherniavskys Yiddish American Jazz Band; "Arashas S’fosenu" performed by Machtenberg’s Male Choir
Text: Interview with Anne Halley on WFCR Amherst Public Radio, 1965.
Sound Editing: Colton Dodd
In her new work Songs for Women, Songs for Men, Hallie Chametzky navigates the
intersections of gender and performance through an investigation of sacred and secular
ritual acts. The soundscore, edited by Colton Dodd, features traditional Jewish and
Yiddish music intertwined with the voice and writings of her grandmother, the late poet
Anne Halley. Seven women question the performative nature of gender by enacting
their own gendered rituals, as well as those of Jewish women around the world and
throughout time. The dancers experience the great beauty—as well as the dangers of
oppression, limitation, and sexism—inherent in “gender-specific” ritual acts.