THE JEWISH HOME n
77 Selling Out
Ticket sales this year were unprecedented. The first show’s seats were completely sold out within ten days of being on the market. Each performance takes place before 800 audience members. It’s almost unknown to have a performance in the Orthodox community sold out in less than two weeks. Keep in mind that this event is for women and girls only. That means that only half the community has the opportunity to watch the performance and yet they are signing up in droves, eager to participate. Richard Altabe, executive director at TOVA, explained that so many children and people from all schools in the community are participating. The community is eager to join in their performance to witness the achdus amongst all those women. So much work goes into the production and the professionalism is evident to the audience. Yehuda Klinkowitz mentioned that even in the summer people were asking him about Harmony and wonder-
ing about the performance this year. “There’s so much ‘hype’ in the community about Harmony,” he explains. “One father told me in June that his daughters had already started practicing for tryouts.” Additionally, the ticket ordering process has become more streamlined due mainly in part to TOVA’s new website. With just a few clicks, tickets can be bought for any performance in almost no time.
An Energy of Achdus
I spoke with Mrs. Ricki Molinsky, the technical director of Harmony, and asked her about what she feels sets this year’s performance apart from others years. “It’s the energy,” she said. “The excitement and desire of the performers to participate and use their kochos for a worthy tzedaka is breathtaking.” Hundreds of children came to tryouts and vied for the opportunity to spend
so much of their time for a good cause. “It’s not easy,” Ricki says, “the effort involved, the rehearsals, the challenge of balancing practice with schoolwork… And yet, each of these girls—from a range of so many schools in the neighborhood—are eager to use their talents and their time for this worthy organization.” The truth is, Harmony is about connection and unity across ages, hashkafas, and communities. Every person has a talent, whether it’s with song or dance, or with organization or writing. In order to produce a performance of this magnitude, everyone is needed. One sings, one dances, one sews costumes, one organizes performances, one watches the performance. Yes, the audience is a big component of the production as well. They are not just coming to be entertained. Those who come to watch the performance are giving the performers a conduit to express their talents. They are also coming to support a very important tzedaka in our community. Even with hundreds of individuals involved, the message of Harmony is one of unity and it clearly showcases the power of many joining together as one. A choir with over eighty singers sings a song that moves the soul; a dance, performed by many, brings out one powerful message. In this year’s performance song and dance are melded together in a unique way. During one dance, a group of singers will be singing on stage as the dancers interpret their song.
Girls and Women Together
The production is essentially divided into two components—the girls’ and women’s divisions respectively. Elementary school-age girls, from 3rd grade and up, are eligible to audition. They can be placed in the choir, dance or ensemble. This year, there are almost 400 girls in the production, a huge jump from last performance. Because so many wanted to be involved, there are three children dances as opposed to the usual two. Being in the production is fun, but it is hard work and requires commitment. Girls have to show up at practice every week, and as production
gets closer, practices take place a few times a week. When I spoke with one of the heads of dance, she mentioned how excited she was for this year’s performance. The girls in her dance are from a wide range of schools, yet, “everyone is so friendly. There is a wonderful connection between the performers,” she related. They are working together despite their external differences and uniting for a great cause. Friendships are born and the unity between them is apparent. The girls see themselves as part of something bigger; there is a spirit of using their talents for the greater good. There are around 100 women in the production—most of them are in the choir. For a woman who has a family to be in the production is a huge commitment—on her behalf and on the behalf of her children and spouse. Ricki says that being in the production generates a different type of harmony, a special shalom bayis. When mommy joins the performance, husband and kids take over some of the responsibilities of running the household. It shows the woman of the home that her talents are appreciated and recognized by her family. Even so, there should be no compromise for the greater good. A woman’s responsibility is to her family. But if she is supported by her family, and her family shows her that they value her talents and her outlet of expression, a special unity is developed. Batya says that throughout all the years she has worked on the production she was able to dedicate so much time to the event because of her devoted husband and children. Her husband understood the enormity of the task and appreciated the effort it entailed. Her children were also supportive throughout the years and in fact, her daughter, Rivka, who was always very enthusiastic, has taken on the role this year of assisting Karen Daitchman, the choir director. Mrs. Shelley Winkler is the production manager. She oversees all the logistics of the production. It’s a huge task to keep track of all the performers, practices and pieces of the production. One of Shelley’s responsibilities is to accompany the “Rebbetzin Committee” that oversees the production. This group, which includes Rebbetzin Fai-
gie Horowitz, Rebbetzin Brown, Rebbetzin Feiner, and Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt, shows up at practices to ensure that the moves and nuances within the performance are within tziniusdik guidelines. Even though the performance is by women, for women, there is a tzinius that one must have in how one acts and performs. In accordance with the theme of Harmony, this ensures that everyone, from every background, feels comfortable with the performance. For over twenty years, Harmony has been unifying women and girls with the ultimate goal of uniting the community with song and dance. Song and dance are expressions of communication that transcend the written word. Because everyone is unique, each person senses a different lesson and message from what they see and hear. But ultimately, the message for all of us is the same: it is a message of friendship, of connection and of Harmony. There will be three Harmony performances: Motzei Shabbos, February 15th at 8pm, Sunday night, February 16th at 7pm, and Motzei Shabbos, February 22nd at 8pm. Performances will take place at Lawrence High School, 2 Reilly Road, Cedarhurst, NY. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tovamentoring.org, through email at harmony@tovamentoring.com, or by phone at 888-718-4253.
T h e J e w i s h h o m e n m ay 2 4 , 2012
F E B R U A RY 6 , 2014
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