On-line Blackjack Strategy Information The Method To Win Extra In 2024
Regarding 8s, having a pair of 8s or a total of 16 right off the bat is amongst the worst palms you presumably can have. But, with sixteen of the 50 different cards in a deck having a price of 10, having two separate palms of 8 is excellent as there’s a good chance of scoring no much less than one hand with 18. Doubling up on a pair of aces makes plenty of sense, giving you two chances to hit 21 with just two cards. Hitting in this state of affairs is the best transfer more often than not as a result of the vendor has to stop hitting when their hand totals 17 or more. While a hand of sixteen is nice, having a hand of 17 or higher gives you a much larger probability of successful. Hopefully, 10 greatest on-line casinos uk like small competitions for cash prizes and VIP suite week-long vacation.Soft Hand Explained: How It Works in Blackjack
These tips will help you improve your chances of profitable and improve your bankroll on the similar time. You can also play your favorite blackjack games on all Android devices. Most online casinos provide a superbly suitable interface for loading these video games on cell browsers and a seamless gameplay experience. There are a couple of ways you could maximize your winnings on greater than your original bet.
- This continues until you have made a one-unit profit, and the cycle begins again.
- This can work in your favor as you’ll find a way to observe and analyze their gameplay whereas focusing on refining your personal technique.
- In addition, strategies add a new dimension of challenge and excitement to the sport.
- Remember that when playing blackjack or playing normally, you are basically investing by spending money within the hope of winning some again.
Through these, you probably can add more cards or modify your hand relying on what would benefit you the best. You can use the hit, stand, double down, break up, or surrender blackjack technique. Online blackjack can be played with 5, 7, or 12 gamers; nevertheless, the most typical blackjack tables host 7 gamers. You can discover video games performed with a single deck or those involving up to eight decks of playing cards.
But earlier than you sit down on the blackjack table or play on-line, the primary rule should be to have a set budget. If you are playing in person, think about not bringing bank cards, as when your finances is gone, so are you. The dealer’s first face up low worth card (2-6) means that there’s a lower likelihood for a supplier of getting a excessive rating. Usually it finally ends up as a bust card combination for the supplier (total value is over 21). Blackjack primary strategy means that if the supplier has a face-up card from 2-6, doubling down or splitting the cards can yield more cash. There isn’t any devoted class for Arabic blackjack sport online like you would possibly see for Roulette or Baccarat games in several languages.
Keep in mind that some online blackjack video games have limited options for splitting and doubling down. Many blackjack players query whether two-deck or six-deck blackjack is superior. They are two of the preferred variants of the sport, each provided in most online casinos within the Arabian area.
Blackjack For Cellular
Because of the inherent threat of using the Martingale methodology to play blackjack, you want to have a pretty good budget before utilizing it. You’ll also need to make sure the utmost guess restrict isn’t too low, so contemplate choosing a high curler on line casino when utilizing this strategy. If you keep dropping, the Martingale methodology calls for continuing to double bets to recuperate losses. As you can see, you can quickly go from $20 to $40 bucks to $80 bucks to $160 bucks and better utilizing the Martingale method. While insurance coverage wagers seem like a no-brainer, the house edge goes up dramatically, especially if the vendor takes an additional card and wins.
This implies that the player is more prone to lose cash over time by making insurance coverage bets. Besides the new member welcome bundle, for each friend you get to enroll, you and your friend obtain 5,000 reward factors that can be used for online blackjack. A staple for live-dealer play, Infinite Blackjack, just like the title sounds, has no participant restrict. Like poker, Infinite Blackjack features neighborhood cards that players have access to. Infinite Blackjack helps aspect bets, particularly the 21+3 facet gamble, which includes a six-deck sport layout.
If the dealer should hit quite than stand on a delicate 17, this can have an result on your strategy. The idea behind each of these moves is that you are taking arms that current anticipated losses and turning them into palms with a robust probability of successful. Remember, follow makes excellent, and the casino floor is a superb place to fine-tune your blackjack skills. By beginning at small bet tables, you possibly can gradually construct your expertise, achieve confidence, and prepare yourself for the thrilling challenges that await at higher-stake tables.
Splitting pairs is one method to do it, and making a double down wager is another method. This wagering option permits you to double your wager when the vendor arms you the first two playing cards. Knowing when to double down is important, however there are some hands when you should always double down.
Many online casinos offer blackjack betting options such as doubling down and insurance coverage. While doubling down can enhance your payouts, it could also lead to big losses when you don’t use the right strategy. In basic, it is better to move on the insurance option, as it is often a waste of money. Many online casinos supply blackjack tournaments the place players compete for substantial prize pools. The guidelines for reside supplier blackjack are the same as if you play animated blackjack games.
It’s important, however, to understand when splitting is advantageous. Not all pairs must be break up, as some splits may increase the probability of ending up with weaker hands or unnecessarily doubling the guess on a poor position. By standing, the participant is counting on the dealer to hit and probably bust or find yourself with a lower complete. Now that you understand the fundamentals of tips on how to play blackjack, you’re prepared to give it a go for your self.
Blackjack is likely considered one of the few on line casino games the place a skilled participant could make a big profit. Unlike other table video games, like roulette or video poker, blackjack depends on mathematical likelihood and requires ability to play correctly. While many players assume they will win online blackjack just by getting lucky, winning the sport persistently has lots to do with planning and understanding the odds. Although it may be tempting to take insurance when the supplier exhibits an ace, it’s generally not thought-about a half of a successful on-line blackjack strategy.
Play Stay Supplier Blackjack Video Games
It can be essential to choose the best blackjack online casinos. So head to our record of suggestions and play blackjack right now. Blackjack strategy charts cowl each possible participant hand and vendor card mixture, including hard, delicate, and break up pairings. Luckily, most blackjack players in the Arab area play online. Simply print out your chart, place it next to you and use it whereas taking half in. One of one of the best issues about using an internet on line casino blackjack technique is that there’s a way to suit each kind of player.
Most on-line blackjack tables require the vendor to cease as soon as the 17 was reached (no matter if onerous or soft), whereas in some a supplier must hit a gentle 17. Blackjack tables with a rule dealer hit on delicate 17 has decrease payout for a participant. The house edge is +0.22% greater compared to blackjack tables the place a supplier should stand on gentle 17. Online playing in Arab nations has advanced significantly in the earlier couple of years, and probably the most significant improvement is that you can now enjoy these video games on the go. You can now play blackjack online in your iPhone or Android smartphone from your comfort zone. Additionally, online casinos now have cell applications you can obtain and use instantly.
Take Your New Blackjack Tricks To The Table:
Compare.wager has found the UK’s prime blackjack websites so that you just can select from. All you want to do is evaluate and pick a favourite to get started. The 1900s saw the ban of practically all playing across the US, although blackjack remained a staple at underground speakeasies through the Prohibition period.
Betting Systems For Blackjack
The greatest way to improve your probabilities of winning at blackjack is to use a blackjack technique chart. These cards contain all the basic methods at a look and are authorized on the casino flooring. You can also find online blackjack calculators that will give you optimal play for any hand. By following the following pointers, you probably can maximise your profitable odds and have a good time on the table. You can not be positive to win at online blackjack, as it is a game of chance like another form of playing.
Reside Dealer Blackjack
The idea is easy — price range your bankroll, because should you do not, you risk wagering money you can’t afford to lose. This large UK-based sportsbook model are now trying to broaden their horizons to many different international places and this includes offering top-rated casino and table games. The bet365 Casino app is available in many alternative international locations and comes with a standout blackjack providing, together with many of the hottest blackjack variants. Something you may discover at on-line casinos that you don’t expertise in a real-world setting is the sheer variety of blackjack variant games on offer. It considers the entire information available to you on the blackjack desk.
It also presents its personal proprietary choices, like Golden Nugget Multihand Blackjack. It is simple to see how this technique can turn into lucrative, however it can additionally increase upon the already existing variance of blackjack. If this happened under the Martingale strategy, players would lose $18,156 in this situation.
A golden rule for new blackjack gamers to know is that the less decks used, the higher the possibilities are for a profitable hand. The simple logic behind this idea is that the possibilities of getting 21 from two cards is greater when fewer decks are used. Another benefit of enjoying with fewer decks is that the dealer does not win further on blackjacks, whereas the participant does.
Your greatest bet involves following a primary technique chart, which tells you the optimal transfer — hit, stand, double down, or cut up — based in your hand and the vendor’s upcard. This chart is mathematically proven to attenuate the home edge, providing you with one of the best likelihood of profitable over time. The chances of winning at blackjack differ depending on the blackjack game you’re playing. Factors such as the variety of decks of cards in play, if surrender is allowed, and when the supplier must stand all impact the blackjack house edge.
The wonderful thing about online casinos is that you can begin with very small bets should you like. The major difference when enjoying at an internet casino is that you’re going to be taking half in towards a computer rather than a real particular person. In this guide, we are going to assume that you are enjoying blackjack online. But actually, it would not matter if you’re enjoying at a web-based on line casino, a land-based establishment, or with a gaggle of associates. Blackjack is rightly regarded as the most well-liked on line casino sport on the planet. It is straightforward to learn, can be played relatively rapidly, and most significantly, presents good odds of successful to players who know what they’re doing.
Card counting is a blackjack strategy used by superior players, involving maintaining monitor of both high and low valued cards which have been dealt. This advanced blackjack technique is depicted in basic movies, like Rain Man and 21. The thought is to realize a bonus on the next hand by knowing what playing cards have come earlier than. Unfortunately, early surrenders are rare, with extra blackjack tables only providing late surrenders, if providing this feature at all. Knowing when to fold a hand is important whenever you discover a recreation that helps this betting possibility. It is an effective time to give up when you have a 70-80% chance of losing the hand.
When you approach a guess with the mindset that it’s not just concerning the end result however the expertise, you’re extra more probably to stay constructive and have a great time, win or lose. Like any other part skill, part luck recreation, blackjack requires practice to grasp your strategy to improve your possibilities of getting paid. For example, if the dealer’s upcard is a 6, they may likely want to attract a couple of card. Drawing two cards on a 6 provides us good odds to win by default on a dealer bust. Maintaining a optimistic mindset is usually underrated however can considerably influence your blackjack efficiency.
For instance, if a participant picks $20 as their standard betting unit, this would be the wager they’ll use after each win. In doing so, players will virtually assure that they win no less than a unit each time they win a hand. Starting with $20, a participant will then bet $20 again if they win that first hand and can wager $40 if they lose.
It will create an opportunity to get two 21s with 2 aces and first rate palms with 8s to play against the dealer’s playing cards. Initially, two playing cards are dealt to all the gamers and the vendor, however the dealer’s second card also known as the outlet card, is dealt face-down in most blackjack games. From a strategic perspective, the choice to take insurance coverage can depend on the composition of the remaining playing cards within the deck. Most casual players, though, are sometimes advised towards taking insurance coverage, as it requires an extra wager, and the chances don’t favor the player in the lengthy run. The attract of insurance coverage lies in its potential to mitigate a complete loss for a specific hand, however the further cost of the wager can even chip away at a player’s bankroll over time. To go for insurance coverage is a choice that is dependent upon the player’s preference and how they approach risk in the game of blackjack.
The sport is played towards the dealer, and the first objective is to have a hand worth nearer to 21 than the vendor’s hand with out going over 21. This article goals to provide beginners with essential tips and methods for taking half in and successful at blackjack on-line, guaranteeing a enjoyable and doubtlessly rewarding expertise. Blackjack is certainly one of the most popular on line casino video games and is played all around the world. Well, no one knows for positive — however it’s believed to have originated in France means again within the seventeenth century as the game ‘Vingt-et-Un’.
We advocate these operators as decent casinos to spend your cash with, and these are all listed on our Real Money Blackjack guide in your ease. A frequent mistake amongst gamers is splitting tens or face playing cards. Doing so may be tempting in pursuit of two robust palms, however it dangers breaking up a probably profitable hand of 20, which is a powerful place against something the vendor holds.
Finding a approach to get greater probabilities to win taking half in online blackjack should not be so onerous. Like its sister web site, BetMGM Online Casino provides the identical 15 blackjack choices. All the blackjack choices carry over to the cell platform to play and luxuriate in anytime. The live-dealer options feature versatile wagers to accommodate as many players as possible.
While some casinos offer blackjack variants like Vegas Strip or Atlantic City Blackjack, others will doubtless present variants that comply with the identical basic strategy. You also have to consider what the supplier is exhibiting, as whether or not you hit or stand depends on the dealer’s upcard. For instance, if the dealer reveals a four, 5, or 6, it is better to face, as weak playing cards enhance the dealer’s probabilities of busting.
However, we don’t advocate taking insurance coverage as a outcome of when you do, in the lengthy term you improve home edge by more than 7%. If the whole of your playing cards comes up to more than eleven, doubling down can make you bust – which means you get a total of greater than 21. So, never double down in this case, regardless of whether or not the dealer has a weak or a strong cards. Broadly, blackjack playing video games are divided into two categories with slight differences in blackjack guidelines. If you land an ace and a ten or a face card, you ought to have a natural blackjack, and if the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, you win 1.5x + your unique wager. For novices, the charm of blackjack is present in its straightforwardness and the comparably favourable winning odds against other casino offerings.
The poker player’s objective is to make one of the best hand possible and bet accordingly. Insurance bet – This is obtainable when the dealer’s upcard is an Ace. You’re primarily betting that the vendor has a 10-value card of their gap card, giving them a blackjack. We recommend staying away from this guess; the chances are firmly stacked in the house’s favor; any blackjack player who’s been taking half in the sport for a while will tell you the same.
At Compare.bet, we’ll never advocate any websites that aren’t licensed. All you have to do is to make the best selections (use the fundamental strategy) and lift your stakes little by little – however solely whenever you win. The best approach to play traditional blackjack is to begin out with what I name a conservative method. Because discovering the right method to handle betting in blackjack is key to long-term fun.
While the payouts are promising, the home benefit is significantly larger. You may also have the choice of betting whether the vendor busts or bets on other gamers’ hands. Blackjack Switch first hit the on line casino scene in the early 2000s. It quickly turned popular as a end result of gamers have been dealt two arms instead of two-hole playing cards. Each hand has an upcard between the two palms so all players can see. Players can swap between the 2 palms to type one or maybe two successful arms.
About Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
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In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
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Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
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When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
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Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
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One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
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Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
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The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
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A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
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Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
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I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
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Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
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A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
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A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
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A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
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Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
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I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
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Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
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An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
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A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
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It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
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Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
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Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
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A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
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I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
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Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
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December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
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I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
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Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
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It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
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Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
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I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
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A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
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It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
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A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
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Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
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Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
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On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
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MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
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LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
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LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
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A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
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On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
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Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
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A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
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