Anna Sokolow, Poster from Jewish Women’s Archive. USA, 2014
Must Know
Anna Sokolow, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States, learned to dance on New York’s Lower East Side. She danced with the early Martha Graham Company and became a leading choreographer whose works reflect her intense commitment to the social, political, and human conflicts of her times. Her dances were created and shown internationally, particularly in Mexico and Israel, where she worked with the Yemenite dance company Inbal. She also collaborated with the Actor’s Studio with Elia Kazan. Her work was seen on and off Broadway and with her own company. Her most famous works include “Kaddish,” “Dreams,” and “Rooms.” With the begining of World War II, Sokolow began to choreograph using Jewish themes. She used passages from the Old Testament in 1943 as part of a Montreal Festival performance and “Songs of a Semite,” from a book of poems by Emma Lazarus, for a 1943 YMHA performance. In 1945 and 1946, she danced “The Bride” to “traditional Jewish music” and Kaddish, wrapped in tefillin
