Dance hard

Perhaps Berkeley’s greatest arts institution is celebrating its 50th anniversary. And the choice of “Rhythms of Resilience” as the theme of the Ashkenaz Community Music and Dance Center’s anniversary gala on November 4 is entirely appropriate.

In its half-century of existence, Ashkenaz has survived Berkeley’s transition from the pearls and headbands era of the ’70s; the shocking murder of the center’s founder, David Nadel, in 1996; a renovation shutdown following an earthquake between 2020 and 2022; and the shutdown of the pandemic that accompanies it. Through it all, the community continued to show not only their support, but also their love for a place Nadel envisioned to welcome everyone and bring people together through the power of dance and music.

David Nadel was a visionary, but he was also a man of many practical talents. He was a dedicated human rights activist and lifelong folk dancer. He had the carpentry and construction skills to lead a team that took a warehouse on San Pablo Avenue and created a unique and beautiful dance and music hall, modeled after a wooden Polish synagogue and the name from Nadel’s Ashkenazi Jewish roots.

Upon entering Ashkenaz, visitors find a 1,500-square-foot wooden dance floor in the main lobby, next to the cafe, hand-built by Nadel and his friends. Above, light filters through the stained glass windows found in the main lobby as well as throughout the rest of the 4,400 square foot building.

Although Nadel was inspired by his love of Balkan music and dance, the Ashkenaz community quickly grew, now encompassing African, Balkan, Brazilian, Cajun/Zydeco, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, reggae and American, from bluegrass to swing. The center presents live music, dance and movement classes, workshops, children’s programs and benefit performances each evening.

Suzy Thompson, now director of the Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention, knew Nadel. She began playing at the center as a violinist in the late 1970s, and in 1983 she brought her Cajun orchestra from California to Ashkenaz. “It was an incredible experience,” she said. “I saw people of all races, from all different backgrounds… professors from the University of California, computer enthusiasts, Creoles from the Bay Area community, a Latino couple who liked to dance to music Cajun music. If (all these people) had discussed politics, there probably wouldn’t have been any common ground. But they were dancing together.

In 1996, Thompson was part of the movement to reopen Ashkenaz after Nadel’s death. “It was kind of impossible,” she said of the effort to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the building. But they did it. Community members who did not know each other, but shared a love for Ashkenaz and what it represented, all worked together to save it. And they shared the joy at the reopening.

In 1998, the Ashkenaz Peace Wall was dedicated to David Nadel. Created through a collaboration between the Global Peace Wall and members of the downtown West Berkeley neighborhood, its wall tiles were painted in Ashkenaz during the first dance marathon on January 17, 1998 and at the People’s Park Fair on January 10. May 1998. still on display on the facade of the building, and is now part of the walls of 31 countries.

In 2001, a successful “Fund the Floor” campaign gave donors the opportunity to memorialize themselves, their organization or a loved one by contributing $200 or more toward the purchase of a plank for the new floor. The new floor, installed in January 2002, is made of maple flooring that was originally part of the Hudson Pencil Factory in San Leandro.

Vicki Virk, co-founder of Non Stop Bhangra and founder of Dholrhythms Dance Company, never met Nadel, but began teaching at the center in 2003. She immediately recognized it was a special place. “The staff was very welcoming,” she said. “I gave my first lessons at the Back Studio. » These became so popular that she moved them to the main room, where they still take place. Ashkenaz remains, she said, accessible, affordable and supportive of teachers and artists who often struggle to find classrooms and performance spaces.

“I teach an Indian dance class and we get people of all ages and backgrounds. It’s very inviting, even for non-dancers,” Virk said. “Very Berkeley.”

Sarah Travis became executive director of Ashkenaz in May 2022. A violinist, she has known the center for years, although she is also too young to have met the founder.

But the staff and volunteers, some of whom have worked with Ashkenaz for decades, have a community memory and passed on a clear image of who he was. Thompson specifically mentioned former general manager Larry Chin, who is still the center’s night manager and serves on its board of directors. “He started working at Ashkenaz in the 1970s and never stopped,” she said.

“David Nadel was a unique person, with strong values, who believed in the power of music and dance,” Travis said. “That message resonated with people (at the founding), and people miss that today.”

One of his goals is to introduce more young people to Ashkenaz and all that it has to offer. “The lineup is solid,” Travis said. And if a visitor comes to see the show and “dig deeper, they will find legends… the gold of history.”

Both Thompson and Virk agree.

“There were places like Ashkenaz in every college town,” Thompson said. Today, there are still few of them. Ashkenaz didn’t try to expand, “she just kept doing what she’s doing,” she said. “It’s a place to dance at home, like you would find in the countryside…in Louisiana, Kenya or Macedonia.” Nadel, she said, “was proud that it was a safe place, where women could go alone. It still seems very safe to me.

It remains a place that has “kept its finger on the pulse of music”. “It’s not just a place to listen,” she said, but a place where “free-form” dancing is not only acceptable, but welcomed with joy.

“Ashkenaz now hosts many events that invite young people,” Virk said. “It’s the space that allows local artists to share their work. It is the house.

The 50th anniversary event will be a special moment for the center. “We have such a rich history of beauty and pain,” Travis said. Four artists from the world of music and dance will be featured, and Travis noted that VIP guests will have the opportunity to view the small space above the studios, where Nadel lived.

Thompson called this space a “little monk’s cell.” Nadel, she said, sometimes allowed homeless people to sleep inside the center and “gave work to indigent people.” In a way, he was rather holy.

Note on Ashkenaz materials: “Funds raised at the event will support Ashkenaz’s efforts to promote traditional and international folk music, support artists, and reach new community members while keeping the place accessible to all those who love music and dance.”

The Rhythms of Resilience events program includes:

5:15 p.m.: VIP reception, personal welcome by the general manager, board members and staff. Visit “behind the scenes” of Ashkenaz, the apartment, now Ashkenaz office, where David Nadel lived.

6 p.m.: Dinner, performances and special presentations

8:30 p.m.: Closing remarks

9 p.m.: Mix, mingle and dance, with a dessert buffet

Rhythms of resilience: tribute to the 50th anniversary of Ashkenaz, 6 p.m., November 4. Tickets start at $100. Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. 510.525.5099. www.ashkenaz.com