FOUR QUESTIONS WITH REBECCA ROSSEN

Dr. Rebecca Rossen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theater and Dance.

What was your journey to becoming a Dance Historian?

My journey to becoming a dance historian began well before I had an interest in dance history. I had danced throughout childhood, high school, and college. When I graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in 1990, I returned to my hometown of Chicago and decided to see if I could make a career in dance. And I did—I danced for many dance artists in Chicago, choreographed my own work, founded and curated a Fringe Dance Festival (called the Movable Beast), and taught dance classes at studios and colleges throughout the city. I loved teaching but was frustrated with how little these jobs paid so I decided to apply to graduate school. I chose a doctoral program at Northwestern University so I could work with Dr. Susan Manning, a terrific dance historian. Dance studies was new to me, and the more I learned, the more I loved it. Dance history showed me the social, political, cultural, and artistic significance of what dance and dancemakers do in the world, and solidified my desire to be a professor.

What brought you to work with the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies?

When I arrived at UT to teach in the Department of Theatre and Dance, the head of my program introduced me to Professor Robert Abzug, who was then the Director of the Schusterman Center. Dr. Abzug has a deep interest

"STARBORNE" Vice President of Jewish student association publishes debut novel

Lila Katz is a Junior who recently transferred from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is majoring in Humanities Honors with a contract in Jewish Storytelling and Self-Representation in the Arts, and is minoring in Jewish Studies. She is Vice President of Outreach for the Jewish Studies Undergraduate Students Association (JSUSA). Her debut novel, Starborne, was published by TouchPoint Press earlier this spring under the pseudonym Aleph Katz.

Tell us a little about your new novel, Starborne—what inspired you to write this story? What do you hope readers get from it?

making enemies out of close friends, and becoming isolated in high school. While writing the novel, I found a fun, research-based way to escape, creating a relatable, strong character with better days ahead. I hope that young readers can find the same safe space in Starborne that I did. I may not need Charlie anymore, but others might.

What draws you to sci-fi as a genre, and to young adult fiction in particular?

years.

What do you enjoy teaching at UT?

I love teaching at UT so much. The undergraduate and graduate students are amazing, and I enjoy working with students who come from all areas of the University. Many of the courses I teach are open to non-majors—you don’t need any experience with dance or performance to take them. I teach a signature course called “Dancing America” and undergraduate courses such as “Gender and Sexuality in Performance,” “Narrative in Physical Performance,” and “Jewish Identity in American Performance.” I plan to develop a course on “Holocaust and Performance,” which I’ll likely offer in Spring 2025. Please look out for it!

Your research next year will be funded by a grant from the National

Endowment for the Humanities. What is this book project about?

My book is about representations of the Holocaust in contemporary dance. It will actually be the first book published on this topic. I’m looking at a number of very moving site-specific performances set in memorial spaces in Austria, Belarus, Germany, and Poland; dances created by the children and grandchildren of survivors; as well as several dances that tell the stories of particular survivors. One of my favorites is a duet for a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor from Budapest named Eva Fahidi and a younger dancer. Eva performed this dance ninety times throughout Europe— one for every year of her life. She is an amazing woman. In addition to the NEH, my research is supported by a Rapoport Fellowship from the Schusterman Center, for which I am very thankful.

Starborne is a female-driven novel about a teen girl named Charlie facing her past and working towards her future. She serves a criminal sentence at a police precinct and is assigned to help develop the EASY program—a government project that scrubs the minds of witnesses and victims to solve cases. When tragedy strikes, Charlie sees no option but to steal the EASY program, her heart set on solving the crime. She faces old enemies and betrayal as she fights her way to an answer. I wrote Starborne when I was 14 and 15 after facing life trials,

Science Fiction became a love of mine after reading and watching many, many books and films in the genre. Social commentary, new ideas, and complex characters all came in a neatly-wrapped 200-page-or-so package. However, I have an even greater love for YA fiction, as a young adult [myself]. Young Adult fiction and children’s fiction hold a special quality that allows a young person to better understand complex emotions and situations through escapist and fantastical elements.

How does your work as a fiction writer tie into the kinds of projects, activities, and courses you participate in here at the SCJS and at UT?

At the SCJS and within UT, my degree focus is largely based in Jewish Storytelling and Self-Representation in the Arts. My writing experience drew me to the Schusterman Center, and my experience in the Jewish Studies program led me to explore Jewish storytelling within my own works.

What do you consider “Jewish storytelling”? How do you incorporate Jewish themes into your work, and what sources of inspiration do you find yourself drawing from?

While Starborne and my earliest works do not include any explicitly Jewish characters, as I continue research on Jewish storytelling, I am working to incorporate Jewishness into my writing. I believe that any kind of literature that deals with Jewish themes can belong in the canon of Jewish storytelling. Whether it is biblical, cultural, religious, philosophical, or Israeli. Or if it is a secular story but the characters are Jewish, and they are trying to negotiate their Jewish identity in a non-Jewish world. As I work on Jewish storytelling in my work, I draw my inspiration from the literature and films and religious experiences and Israel experiences that I have been fortunate to have.

Can you share any details about new projects you’re currently working on?

I am currently developing a musical titled Inferno with composer and project lead Ethan Lao. The first draft of the musical was produced at the Cohen New Works Festival at UT and explores social justice themes while reimagining Dante’s Inferno in a modern context. I am also working on publishing a Contemporary Fantasy series called Arazathef, which carries a lot of Jewish storytelling elements and has a Jewish woman lead. The series explores religious, cultural, and philosophical aspects of Jewry in a plot based in the afterlife. I hope, through my research in the Jewish Studies and Humanities programs at UT, that I will grow as a Jewish writer and begin to incorporate the work from my undergraduate thesis into my future works.