A Weekend of Yiddish Culture, History, Music, & Dance in Vancouver (Feb. 20-22)

Open a window into centuries of Yiddish culture in a full weekend of events (Feb. 20-22, 2026) for Peretz members, friends, and the general public. From discussions to performances to interactive workshops with celebrated musicians, dancers, and scholars, people of all ages can learn about and experience Jewish folk culture and engage with the fascinating, and complex, work of cultural preservation and renewal.

Learn the History & Ask Questions at Fraytik tsu Nakht Cultural Shabbes with Jess Goldman

Friday, February 20th from 6-9pm at the Peretz Centre

Our monthly Secular Humanist Shabbes celebration, potluck, and for this February's after-dinner learning, Jess Goldman brings us profound questions about culture, history, and the way we understand it.

Sh. An-ski, 1915

The Peretz Centre hosts a monthly Secular Humanist shabbes, including songs and readings, a potluck dinner, and an engaging, educational community discussion. To help us dive into the historical themes of the weekend's events, Peretznik Jess Goldman will lead our after-dinner learning and discussion on "An-ski, Ethnographic Performance, and History's Phantom Limbs."

Much of what we now consider Yiddish culture (our songs, folktales, and even rituals) come from the preservation work of the famous Yiddish activist, writer, and ethnographer Sh. An-ski's Ethnographic Expedition of 1912-1914 into the Pale of Settlement. But what were the ethnographic strategies An-ski used to record the traditions of turn-of-the-century Ashkenazi Jews? And how does this ethnographic expedition shape our understanding of Yiddish culture now? How, by exploring An-ski's strategies, might we complicate this cultural inheritance and imagine what might be missing from this history?

Whether An-ski's name is new to you or as familiar as a friend, Jess' brief talk in a relaxed community setting, followed by discussion, will be an excellent journey into the fascinating questions raised by An-ski's work and anyone interested or invested in cultural preservation and revitalization.

Everyone is welcome to attend and bring a contribution to the potluck, or pay $18 (kids are free)!

Register

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Hear (and Dance to!) the Lost Music of Yiddishland with Christina & The Zamlers

Saturday, February 21st from 8-10pm at Or Shalom's temporary location at Cityview Church

Or Shalom's Light in Winter Concert Series presents, in partnership with the Peretz Centre and KlezWest, a unique exploration of lost musical manuscripts with Christina Crowder, Maia Brown, Jimmy Austin, and Mae Kessler.

Next, Christina & The Zamlers bring us an incredible evening of music, history, and dance based on the musical manuscripts collected in the An-ski expeditions. The story of how they came to us is a wild one: long-assumed to be lost to the ravages of the 20th century, they were hidden away in archives until the fall of the Soviet Union.

Then, in 2017, a chance encounter in Tokyo between a Yiddish dance teacher and a musicologist leads to the unlikely release of thousands of these unique musical manuscripts. With help from klezmer enthusiasts throughout the world, and as part of the Klezmer Institute's Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project (KMDMP), the tunes have been gradually transcribed and shared online, enabling klezmer musicians and scholars to bring them back to life for audiences all over the world to enjoy.

The performance embodies S. Ansky’s vision of Jewish folklore as a living “Oral Torah” of Jewish culture, inviting musicians and dancers to interpret and reimagine it for the present day and to celebrate the Jewishness encoded in these melodies with audiences around the world.

The Klezmer Institute’s Executive Director Christina Crowder will present this program together with musicians Jimmy Austin, Mae Kessler, and dance leader Maia Brown, sharing with us pieces ranging from lively freylekhs and skotchnes, to elegant mazurkas, nigunim, and soulful Jewish wedding ritual melodies.

Tickets are by donation, minimum of $18 per person (suggested amount: $36).

Get Tickets

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Experience & Learn the Movements of Yiddish Dance

Sunday, February 22nd from 1-2:30pm at the Peretz Centre

Dance leader Maia Brown offers an afternoon Yiddish dance workshop for all ages and abilities

After the performance on Saturday night, come think about moving in a Yiddish lineage! If you are a Klezmer musician, dancer, dance-curious, or simkha celebrant, workshop participants will explore basic steps and gestures, notice the reciprocal relationship between Klezmer music and dance, and how each of our bodies like to move in this ever-changing vernacular.

Maia Brown

The Peretz Centre is so excited to welcome back Maia Brown (who visited us last year to perform as part of the anti-fascist Yiddish folk-punk duo Brivele), who, in addition to being a talented Yiddish musician and dance leader (among other things), is an excellent teacher.

The dance workshop is open to all ages and experience/skill levels, with participation by donation (no minimum).

Register

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Play Klezmer Music & Explore the Intersection between Body Mechanics and Rhythmic Texture

Sunday, February 22nd from 3-4:30pm at the Peretz Centre

Accordionist Christina Crowder teaches musicians how to play for core Klezmer dance genres and accompany folk dancing

Christina Crowder

After a short 30-minute break (with light refreshments), the dance workshop will turn to instrumental playing. Offered by accomplished musician and executive director of the Klezmer Institute Christina Crowder (accordion and tsimbl), the second workshop invites participants to explore how the rhythmic textures and grooves we create in the core klezmer dance genres facilitate or block successful dance sets.

Ever wonder what makes the best klezmer tunes so compellingly danceable? Ever experience a truncated dance set and wonder why things didn’t work out? Participants will take turns playing for each other and as a group, and learn the basic movement patterns for each dance genre. Understanding these essential movement patterns will make us better accompanists for tantshoyz and simkhes!

Registration is by donation, and make sure to bring your instrument!

Register

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Moving from discussions to performances to workshops, this incredible series of events is a unique chance to learn and experience Jewish culture and history, encountering lost cultural treasures, and understanding the labour that goes into cultural renewal!

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