beyond broken glass.
presentation.
Dr. Shelly Cline, Director of Education and Historian with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in partnership with Suzanne Ryanstrati provide a glimpse into the human experience of the November Pogrom told thorough eye-witness testimony with live music by John Currey.
The November 9 and 10, 1938 Pogroms have also been called Kristallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass. This docu-dance focuses on impact to the daily lives of Jewish people and the Jewish community beyond the destruction of property with the universal themes of family, employment, religion, and education.
artistic process.
The dancers and staff gathered to watch “Witnesses to the Holocaust: Kristallnacht” by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Each witness shared their story through their eyes as children.
Participants stood in a circle. Each participant developed movement representing an element of one story, and taught it to the group. This movement was incorporated into the final choreography. Working with Suzanne Ryanstrati, musician John Currey’s composition pulls from the stories themselves, historical research and the movement of the dancers.
Throughout the process, Ryanstrati shared photos and videos with participants and met with Dr. Cline for historical accuracy.
A set piece, made out of door frames from a 19th century home Kansas, was repurposed. The set contains lighted boxes representing different elements of the story, with cut glass as a layer on the existing door frames. Using doorframes was an intentional representation of a home or business and the lighted cubes behind the glass represent elements of life and culture.
Special thanks to the witnesses and their decendents, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, the White Theater at the J!, The Hess Family, Ovation Dance Academy, Encore at the J! and the Koch Cultural Trust for making this project possible.