Dance Memorial Honors Holocaust Survivors in the Berkshires

When Israeli-American choreographer Shany Dagan listened to her grandparents' Holocaust testimonies during lockdown, she didn't just remember. She moved.

Now her dance memoir "3RD GEN – A Survivor's Story" is coming to the Berkshires for a free community performance on February 26 at Jacob's Pillow. The performance combines movement and storytelling to honor Holocaust survivors while showing how their grandchildren carry these stories forward.

Dagan created the piece by listening to recordings her grandparents made at Yad Vashem, then translating their words into movement. She invited dancer Yochai Greenfeld to listen to her grandfather's story and respond through improvised dance. Composer Luke Wygodny added music inspired by the same testimonies from Dagan's grandparents, Emmanuel Dagan and Lily Alter.

"This was the first time that I sat with my history and with the people who I loved most and listened to their pain," Dagan says. She filmed the development process and shaped the best improvisations into a full performance.

The response surprised her. Friends and audience members who weren't Jewish told her the piece made them think about their own family stories. "That was the first time that I actually realized that everyone can relate," she says.

The Ripple Effect

The performance launches a three-part series that includes a school assembly at Mount Everett Regional School and a dance workshop for young choreographers. It's part of a larger effort by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires to bring students together against hate.

Middle school teacher Lindsey Brown partnered with Federation Executive Director Dara Kaufman to bring the Hate Has No Home Here campaign to Mount Everett. Students are now working with Change Makers for Good, learning how to facilitate difficult conversations with their peers.

The school is also hosting the Massachusetts Mobile Museum of Tolerance in March. Students in grades 6 through 12 will learn how to be upstanders rather than bystanders and practice positive digital citizenship.

"There are a lot of students here at Mount Everett that want to do these good works and make a difference and put into place some real change," Brown says.

To students attending the performance, Dagan has a clear message: "It's not supposed to be a sad performance. It revolves around strength and history and hope and resilience."

Art opens hearts where lectures sometimes can't reach, and this dance proves that memories passed down through generations can still teach us how to stand strong together.