Jews, Jazz & Swing
Diane Klein and Nancy Klein
From Tin Pan Alley, to Big Band swing, including salsa and Latin jazz, jazz music for partner dancing has largely been a creation of people of color – and Jews. George and Ira Gershwin (Jacob and Israel Gershowitz), Artie Shaw (né Arshawsky), and Benny Goodman (son of a Warsaw tailor) are just a few of the best known contributors to the music that took America by storm from 1935-1945, and has enjoyed a recent and much-deserved resurgence. In this course, we will listen to, learn about, and swing dance to the music of Jewish composers, bandleaders, and others.
Diane Klein is a lawyer and law professor living in Gulfport, Florida, teaching this year as a visiting professor at Stetson Law School. She has attended every NHC Summer Institute since 2003 and taught a variety of courses. Some of her legal scholarship focuses on jazz, race, and law, and she has been lucky enough to befriend a few working jazz musicians (thereby becoming cooler by osmosis).
Nancy Klein (Diane’s sister) is new to the NHC. She is an experienced dancer and dance teacher, who began doing ballet and jazz as a child and has been swing dancing in and around Los Angeles for the past several years
Categories
- Arts and Movement
- History and Culture
- Afternoon Course
