About Klezmer on Ice

Join us at Klezmer on Ice for a variety of workshops from our guest artists and local experts! This includes a variety of workshops that you can learn more about on our website: Yiddish Letterpress Workshop (with Noam Sienna): “Learn about the role of letterpress printing as a tool of historical Yiddish community-building, resistance, and survival.” Klezmer Instrumental Workshop (with Daniel Lentz): “Join fiddler Daniel Lentz from Di Bayke Klezmer Band as we develop the Yiddish voice on our instruments and form Minnesota’s newest klezmer ensemble.” Yiddish Dance Across Space and Time (with Eliana Durnbaugh, Hannah Mackenzie-Margulies, and Ilya Shneyveys): “What makes Yiddish dance Yiddish? It’s not an easy question (spoiler alert: we don’t have an easy answer ourselves)! In this class, we’ll explore core Yiddish dance style and intention through solo gesture and expand our Yiddish dance horizons by learning repertoire from a variety of time periods and geographies.” Behind the Yiddish Song (with Sarah Larsson): “Tumbalalaika, Oyfn Pripetchik, a Yiddishe Mama — for many of us, these songs are the only points of Yiddish culture we’ve been exposed to. It’s Bubbe’s favorite song; it’s in a film soundtrack... but what are the histories behind these ‘chestnuts’?”

Join us at the end of the month to play, dance and learn with two of our favorite musicians in Yiddishland! Featured artists Ilya Shneyveys (@svobodu) and Cantor Sarah Myerson (@cantorsarahmyerson) are a dynamic duo in the Yiddish scene, captivating audiences, inspiring students, and energizing communities around the world. Sarah Myerson's original Yiddish songs and liturgical settings, along with Ilya Shneyveys' klezmer compositions and arrangements, highlight their ability to combine past and present, traditional and contemporary. They also incorporate communal dance into their performances, creating an inclusive, interactive experience that builds connection amongst audiences. Rooted in tradition, yet unafraid to innovate, Ilya and Sarah's energetic approach to Yiddish culture reflects their passion for both preserving and evolving this rich heritage. #klezmeronice

We are excited to announce the upcoming 4th annual Klezmer on Ice festival on January 31st and February 1st in Minneapolis. The name “Klezmer on Ice” is meant to playfully honor the unique, weird, and creative culture of the South Minneapolis community in which our festival is rooted, but it is not lost on us that the name of our festival may come off as tone-deaf given the recent murder of Renee Nicole Good z’’l and the ongoing abductions of our neighbors by ICE agents. Coming from a Yiddish tradition that knows too well the history of pogroms, holocaust, and catastrophe, we are well aware that lawless police forces like ICE are antithetical to everything we stand for as Yiddishists. In the Yiddish language, Klezmer on Ice or "klezmer on eyz" translates directly to klezmer WITHOUT ice. In this spirit, we are making it clear that this is an anti-ICE event. We invite you to join us in a joyful celebration that aims to strengthen the bonds of our Yiddish community, our Jewish community, and our many resilient artistic and cultural communities that make the southside what it is. We are looking forward to a weekend of workshops, talks, concerts and more in which we deepen our connections with one another – that is what keeps us safe. Minneapolis on (without) ICE.

Klezmer. On Ice. Thank you @artshantyprojects for having us! 📸 @dcupery

Closing the bellows on an incredible weekend

Klezmer on Ice is this weekend! We're celebrating by digging through old images from the Klezmer on Ice archives.

Come shvitz with us on Feb 1! Together with @superiorsaunas, we're creating a one-of-a-kind evening of sauna and live Yiddish & Eastern European folk music from @soultrouvere, @redthreadsings, @zoeaqua, & @iraktemple Register at klezmeronice.com (link in bio)

Introducing Di Bayke Klezmer Band - the house band for Klezmer on Ice! ✨ Catch @baykeband at Driftwood Char Bar for a full Yiddish dance set! 📅 When: Saturday, February 1, 8:30 PM 📍 Where: Driftwood Char Bar, Minneapolis 🎟️ No cover charge if you're coming from the sauna party across the street @ The Yard (Bonus: Prizes for anyone who walks over in their bathing suit & flip-flops 🩴❄️) 📸 @ruski_couch Di Bayke Klezmer Band is composed of teaching artists from the Longfellow Village Band and presented by Folk Will Save Us. Di Bayke (meaning "Tall tale" in Yiddish) plays the dance music of Yiddish and Eastern European music traditions, bringing experiences in Yiddish and Klezmer music to new audiences around the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

We’re thrilled to share the lineup for this year’s festival! Join us Feb 1 & 2 for a weekend of klezmer, Yiddishkeit, and community on the ice with @artshantyprojects, in the sauna with @thermaculture, workshops with @folkwillsaveus, and more! Full schedule link in our bio.