Swinging the pendulum: Dance, gender, Reform Judaism, public artmaking

Examining the relationship between the body, learning, and prayer in the context of dance in Jewish life, this thesis investigates the historical relationship between the detached condition of dance and the patriarchal construction of gender differences in Judaism. Particularly, it explores this relationship within Reform Judaism, where principles of egalitarian prayer and learning in current practice still maintain a limited role for dance.; Perspectives of three participants in Liz Lerman Dance Exchange's public artmaking initiative, Moving Jewish Communities: A Training Initiative for Jewish Artists, highlight contemporary approaches to this relationship developed through the initiative and beyond. Their perspectives illuminate the current gendered and non-gendered complexities of this dynamic and the intricate ways in which they surface through dance. The fascinating nodes of intersection between Judaism, dance, and gender reveal both subtle and obvious manifestations of this relationship in contemporary Reform Judaism, prompting further scholarship and discussion.