FROM THE JEWISH NOTE TO WANDERING CROSS-CULTURAL SHUL
FROM THE JEWISH NOTE1 TO WANDERING CROSS-CULTURAL SHUL2 or from the question «Why are there Belarusian dances in Belarus, but not Jewish ones?» to the creation of a cinema and research space.
1 — This is not a reference to Mikhail Weller’s book, it’s the title of our first dance party with a Yiddish-Belarusian repertoire!
2 — Shul — «school» from Yiddish — שול, in German – Schule.
This story began in 2009, when a Belarusian film director, a Latvian cinematographer, and the head of a regional TV channel in the Belarusian town of Barysaŭ came together to produce a 12-part series involving both professionals and amateurs.
When the project came to an end, the crew realised they did not want to part ways. Out of this shared enthusiasm grew a community of people determined to create an alternative cultural life in a provincial town.
Photo credit: V. Tsvirko
And then…
It took just one year (from summer 2016 to summer 2017) for the independent initiative Барысаўская Мыза (The manor of Barysaŭ), which had already been involved with historical dance parties and exploring local urban history for some time, to shift its focus to researching strictly Jewish dance and music heritage!
Photo credit and art: K. Zalialetdzinava
Yes, since 2016, our community has been exploring the Jewish cultural heritage of Belarus through dance, film, music, and research. What began as local dance gatherings gradually evolved into international collaborations, artistic projects, and cultural activism.
How did this happen?
So, it is a BRIEF TIMELINE of Our Community’s “Jewish Turn” :
2016
Musicians from the folk dance project Свае Танцы (Our Dances) discovered our community Барысаўская Мыза online through the MыЗаТанцы! (We Are for Dance!) initiative thanks to our photos, videos, and reflections on dance culture. Together, we began organising regular dance parties in Barysaŭ, exploring dances such as Subota and Sher (obvious Jewish traces!) accompanied by fiddle, clarinet, tambourine, and accordion.
2017
The dance party На Жыдоўскай ноце (On the Jewish Note), together with the На таку3 kapelye, brought Jewish dances back to the former Jewish ghetto of Barysaŭ for the first time in many years.
3 — Na Taku — literally “at the threshing floor,” a Belarusian expression associated with communal work and a good harvest. Traditionally, the threshing floor (takoŭka or tok, tačok) was also a place where villagers gathered for open-air dance parties.
Photo credit: M. Cherkashin
2017
Filming of the silent black-and-white feature film of Magic Scissors, inspired by Jewish fairy tales.
Best Feature Film — Bulbamovie Festival in Warsaw, 2024
Photo credit: M. Cherkashin
2018–2020
Live-scored screenings of Magic Scissors accompanied by workshops on Yiddish dance and Belarusian dances influenced by Jewish tradition.
2019
Launch of the Shtetlfest project with support from a grant programme. Despite covid-19 and the political crisis in Belarus, the project continued through research expeditions with Polish partners and the publication of collected materials. One of the most valuable discoveries was a series of sketches by Mendel Gorshman depicting Yiddish dancing in Belarusian shtetls (1926–1928).
2019
Group mobility grant from the MOST programme (Goethe-Institut) for participation in Yiddish Summer Weimar. Belarusian musicians and dancers took part in the festival for the first time.
Photo credit: our archieve
2020
Creation of the video project Stay Home Dance Khosidl — a documentation of Yiddish dance by musicians and dancers during the period of forced social covid-19 isolation.
2021
Online workshop for the Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center festival.
2021
Art residency in the village of Kaptaruny focused on Yiddish dance and music practice.
2022
Launch of the #tantsn project exploring connections between Jewish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian dance traditions through discussions and video recordings.
2022
Mobility grant from Asociaţia Tinerilor Artişti Oberliht for research in Moldova on folk dance and music, and the historical connections between lautari and klezmorim traditions.
2023
EU4Culture mobility grant (Goethe-Institut) for participation in Yiddish Summer Weimar, including the organisation and documentation of a workshop on Yiddish Gesture Dance led by Walter Zev Feldman.
2023
Grant of EU4Culture (Goethe-Institut) for the film-scoring project Litvak Dialogue for a silent movie, creating a space where Belarusian folk musicians were studying klezmer music and creating the soundtrack for Magic Scissors
Best Soundtrack, Belarusian Film Critics Award “Red Heather”, Warsaw, 2026
Photo credit: our archive
2024
Project Litvak Dialogue for the Post-Folklore Belarusian Community, bringing klezmer-inspired music and dance knowledge onto the dance floor through community practice.
2024
MOST+ (Goethe-Institut) grant supporting a group trip of Belarusian musicians and dancers to Yiddish Summer Weimar. Musicians who learnd klezmer in Belarus got the the most significant festival in Europe for networking and inspiration.
AS A RESULT OF THESE PROJECTS — alongside the awards received by Magic Scissors — several important new developments became possible:
The project’s leader completed the Paideia One-Year Jewish Studies Programme(2025–2026) in Sweden and is currently working on an autoethnographic study of Yiddish dance titled Dancing Between the Lines;
One of our participants was inspired for the creation of the Kotra music band, which brought Litvak musical material to the stage of the European Yiddish community in 2025;
And the biggest news for us right now: our initiative is growing into an official cultural institution, while our website is moving to a new home (different hosting and name) with future projects and collaborations soon to be announced.
A full list of our friends and collaborators will appear on the new website of our Wandering Shul.
In the meantime, we would like to express our gratitude to our partners and supporters:
Goethe-Institut (MOST, MOST+, EU4Culture)
Asociaţia Tinerilor Artişti Oberliht
Yiddish Summer Weimar
And personally:
Walter Zev Feldman
Alan Bern
Ilya Saitanov
Evgenia Khazdan
Artur Klinov
—and many others who, for now, remain behind the scenes.