Naomi Jackson
Naomi Jackson (1961–2025) was Professor in the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre at Arizona State University. She was the lead editor for The Oxford Handbook of Jewishness and Dance (2022) in collaboration with Rebecca Pappas and Toni Shapiro-Phim. Her other books include: Dance, Human Rights, and Social Justice: Dignity in Motion (co-edited with Toni Shapiro-Phim, Scarecrow Press, 2008), Right to Dance: Dancing for Rights (Banff Centre Press, 2004), and Converging Movements: Modern Dance and Jewish Culture at the 92nd Street Y (Wesleyan University Press, 2000). Her reviews and articles appeared in such publications as Contact Quarterly, Dance Research Journal, Dance Chronicle, and Dance Research. She served as a member of the boards of the Society of Dance History Scholars and the Congress on Research in Dance, and she organized the ground-breaking International CORD Dance and Human Rights Conference in Montreal with Dena Davida in 2005. Her research focused on ethics, human rights, social justice, Jewish studies, and contemporary trends in dance. May her memory be a blessing.
Jewishness in Dance + Movement: Injustice, Healing + Social Justice
May 2025:Many people, especially those unfamiliar with Jewish history or dance, see Jews as the “people of the book”—a people dedicated to study and reflection. What is absent from this image is the dynamic davening (rocking back and forth motion) accompanying traditional Jewish male prayer, and swarms of dancing ultra-orthodox Jews (including women) at weddings and […]
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