Anna Sokolow’s Jewish Roots of American Modern Dance

In 1965 choreographer Anna Sokolow wrote of her work: "I don't believe there is any final solution to the problems of today. All I can do is provoke the audience into an awareness of them." 

American modern dance pioneer and Jewish cultural icon, Anna Sokolow (1910-2000) was a dancer and choreographer of uncompromising integrity. She is a very important part of American Jewish culture, though her story is not well known. Anna’s choreography closely reflects her intense commitment to the social, political, and human conflicts of her times. Beginning in the 1930s Sokolow confronted audiences with her radical idea that the common person is worthy of a place on stage. At each decade of her career she re-invented herself, remaining at the cutting edge of unflinching art for more than 70 years.

This lecture demonstration, presented by Samantha Geracht, Artistic Director of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, traces Sokolow’s history and art: from New York City’s Lower East Side, surrounded by the socialist artistic movement flourishing at the time, through her development as a world-renowned modernist choreographer, to her lifelong ties to Israel and its own modern dance roots. Anna Sokolow’s artistic story is intertwined with the American Jewish story of her time.