Anna Sokolow, Lady of Dance

Anna Sokolow was born on February 9, 1910, in Hartford, CT.  Recent immigrants from Pinsk, Russia, the Sokolows had difficulty adjusting to life in America.  As Anna later recalled, “In the European Jewish tradition, the man was really the scholar, and the woman he married, and her family, took care of him and their children.  When they came here, a lot of them had to change … They learned to cope with the system and realized that they had to earn a living.  Well, my father was totally bewildered by it … Eventually my mother, with her great energy, stepped in and took over.”

Anna was a dancer and choreographer of uncompromising integrity.  Believing strongly that dance could be more than mere entertainment, she explored the most pressing issues of her day — from the Great Depression, to the Holocaust, to the alienated youth of the 1960s — and challenged her audiences to think deeply about themselves and their society.

A key figure in the development of modern dance in Israel and Mexico, Sokolow worked in numerous countries, from Holland to Japan.  She also worked with a variety of theater forms; in addition to regular involvement with Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions, she often experimented with combining dance, mime and the spoken word into a single piece.

Recalling her first visit to Israel, Sokolow commented, “I certainly didn’t expect to be affected so deeply, but the minute the plane landed I was overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling about being there.  I didn’t have any kind of strong Zionist background, but going there changed my point of view. [Israel] is now one of the deepest things in my life.”

Sokolow returned to Israel virtually every summer for decades, teaching countless groups of dancers and actors.  In the early 1960s, she created a new company, the Lyric Theatre, designed to bring theater, music and dance together.  Although the company survived only a few years, it helped Israeli modern dancers achieve professional standing and recognition.

Sokolow frequently found inspiration in Jewish history and culture.  Not only did her upbringing amidst the left-wing movements of New York’s Jewish immigrant communities shape her interest in social and political injustices, but Biblical and modern Jewish figures, Jewish rituals, and other Jewish themes formed the basis of diverse compositions.

On several occasions, Sokolow’s strong interest in Jewish dance and Jewish themes earned her special recognition.  In 1975, New York’s 92nd Street Y presented her with an award for her contributions to the world of dance and to the Jewish people.  Eleven years later, a gala evening in Sokolow’s honor opened a three-day conference on “Jews and Judaism in Dance.”

Sokolow’s compositions were generally abstract; rather than following a narrative structure, they searched for truth in movement and examined a broad range of human emotions. Exploring as they did many of the social, political, and human conflicts that characterize life in the modern world, they often left viewers feeling shaken and disturbed.  But even when dealing with the darkest of subjects, Sokolow’s appreciation of the dignity of the human spirit and its resilience in the face of trouble and despair was evident.  As a reviewer wrote in 1967, “Miss Sokolow cares — if only to the extent of pointing out that the world is bleeding. I find hope in such pessimism.”

Sokolow never shrank from confronting her audiences with difficult realities. She searched for truth in movement, using dance to explore the broad range of human emotions and encouraging her audiences to think for themselves.  “My works never have real endings,” she said.  ”They just stop and fade out, because I don’t believe there is any final solution to the problems of today.  All I can do is provoke the audience into an awareness of them.”

The conviction that “art should be a reflection and a comment on contemporary life” shaped Sokolow’s entire career.  Always animated by an intense social consciousness, Sokolow believed strongly in the necessity of involvement with the world around her.  “The artist should belong to his society,” she wrote, ”yet without feeling that he has to conform to it…. Then, although he belongs to his society, he can change it, presenting it with fresh feelings, fresh ideas.”

As we remember and celebrate the life of Ana Sokolow, let us not forget the influence that Israel had on her as a dancer.  She felt as if she were portraying the very lives of the Jewish people and the everyday terrors they had to face in order to survive.  Pray for the peace and protection of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

To read more about Anna Sokolow, please see Wikipedia, Jewish Virtual Library, and Jewish Women of Valor.

“Lady of the Cells”

Rita Levi-Montalcini and her twin sister Paola were born April 22, 1909, to a Jewish family in the northern city of Turin.  Her parents were Adamo Levi, an electrical engineer and mathematician, and Adele Montalcini, a painter.

Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, recently died at her home in Rome.  She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno called her death a great loss “for all of humanity.”  He praised her as someone who represented “civic conscience, culture and the spirit of research of our time.

Italy’s so-called “Lady of the Cells,” a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion of Italy, became one of her country’s leading scientists.  During World War Two, the Allies’ bombing of Turin forced her to flee to the countryside where she established a mini-laboratory.  She fled to Florence after the German invasion of Italy and lived in hiding there for a while, later working as a doctor in a refugee camp.

During her research at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, she discovered the nerve growth factor (NGF), the first substance known to regulate the growth of cells.  She showed that when tumors from mice were transplanted to chicken embryos they induced rapid growth of the embryonic nervous system.  She concluded that the tumor released a nerve growth-promoting factor that affected certain types of cells.  Her research helped in the treatment of spinal cord injuries and has increased understanding of cardiovascular diseases, as well as Alzheimer’s.

Her research contributed to a better understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.  It also led to Stanley Cohen’s discovery of another substance, epidermal growth factor (EGF), which stimulates the proliferation of epithelial cells.  The two shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986.
After retiring in the late 1970s, she continued to work as a guest professor and wrote several books to popularize science.  She created the Levi-Montalcini Foundation to grant scholarships and promote educational programs worldwide, particularly for women in Africa.

Levi-Montalcini never married and had no children, fearing such ties would undercut her independence.  “I never had any hesitation or regrets in this sense,” she said.  ”My life has been enriched by excellent human relations, work and interests. I have never felt lonely.”

An elegant presence, confident and passionate, she was a sought-after speaker until late in life.  “At 100, I have a mind that is superior — thanks to experience — more than when I was 20,” she said in 2009.

“It is imperfection — not perfection — that is the end result of the program written into that formidably complex engine that is the human brain,” Dr. Levi-Montalcini wrote in her autobiography, “and of the influences exerted upon us by the environment and whoever takes care of us during the long years of our physical, psychological and intellectual development.”

Israel has suffered at the hands of her enemies, but she continues to survive and flourish, providing the world with professionals who are leaders in all fields of research and development.  As we pray for the peace and protection of Jerusalem Psalm 122:6, let us pray with thanksgiving for the special gifts and skills with which He has endowed His chosen people and for the contributions that they have made that make all of lives better.

To read more about Rite Levi-Montalcini please see articles in Wikipedia, New Zealand Herald, BBC, Reuters, New York Times.