holy names for our dybbuk

a ritual performance of a dybbuk exorcism

2024

In Yiddish folklore tradition, the “dybbuk” is a wandering spirit that clings to a living body to communicate messages from the dead. Traditionally, a group of healers would loosen the spirit’s grip on the host body through a combination of interviews, prayers and rhythmic chanting, culminating in a profound public demonstration of collective transmutation.

Holy Names for Our Dybbuk reimagines a dybbuk exorcism for our times, as a movement-based score and site-specific ritual. Taking place at Jewish sites in Poland, the performance brings audiences and performers into direct and embodied encounters with Jewish memory as it is embedded in the land. Created by Weitz, in collaboration with Polish choreographer Magdalena Przybysz, the 40-minute performance features Weitz as the dybbuk, who becomes a channel for ancestral grief. Through rhythmic Hebrew chanting and Hasidic-inspired postmodern choreography, a multigenerational ensemble of Polish dancers confronts the dybbuk as healers, crafting a somatic and symbolic ritual to exorcize ancestral trauma from both the collective body and the land.

Holy Names for Our Dybbuk draws inspiration from Ashkenazi shamans, known as ba’alei shem (masters of the name), who traditionally invoked the many holy names of the divine in healing rituals. The movement score is influenced by Polish Jewish choreographer Judith Berg, celebrated for her contributions to the Yiddish film "Der Dibuk" (1937, Poland), blending modern dance with traditional Yiddish folk movements.

The performance also includes an audio recording of Holocaust survivor Paula Spigler from Lodz, whose voice guides participants through a meditation inspired by the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), a Kabbalistic text that explores the connection between the Hebrew letters, the elements of nature, and the human body. During the performance, the audience is encouraged to actively engage in the ritual through both sound and movement.

Amid the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, Holy Names for Our Dybbuk fosters a communal quest for ancestral wisdom, offering embodied guidance to heal deep-rooted traumas of the past, present, and future. The project premiered at the 8th annual FestivALT on June 30, 2024, at the site of the former Nazi labor and concentration camp, Kraków-Plaszow, and was later performed at the POLIN Museum in Warsaw on September 25, 2024. Weitz is currently creating a video artwork that incorporates visual and audio recordings from her performances. She also leads movement-based workshops informed by her choreographic research (scroll down for details).

***Holy Names for Our Dybbuk,*** live performance at the POLIN Museum, Warsaw, Poland, 2024 (photo credit D. Matłocha/ POLIN)

Creator and Lead Artist: Julie Weitz

Choreographer and Dramaturgy: Magdalena Przybysz

Performers and Co-Creators of Choreography: Barbara Kardyś, Magda Niedzielska, Michał Przybyła, Joanna Skrzyszowska, Katarzyna Żeglicka, Magdalena Przybysz

Costumes: Julie Weitz, Jill Spector, and Donna Stack