Special Projects
Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project
Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project will be the centerpiece of PBT’s 40th Anniversary Season. Originated by Ballet Austin, Light explores themes of family, segregation, isolation and survival as it follows the experience of one Holocaust survivor.
The Pittsburgh premiere of Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project will be November 12-15, 2009 at the Byham Theater. Unique to Light will be the broad base of programs that will go beyond the stage to educate the community about the Holocaust and its lessons for today.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Holocaust Center have assembled a volunteer committee of religious, cultural, educational, and philanthropic leaders under Honorary Co-Chairs David and Cindy Shapira, Charles Porter and Hilary Tyson, and committee Chairs Hal and Diane Waldman. The Light committee has developed a series of collaborative artistic and educational projects. These projects seek to:
- Provide additional entry points to this topic through collaborations with partner organizations.
- Ensure Jewish continuity as it conveys experiences of Holocaust survivors with new generations.
- Raise community awareness, promote civic discourse and educate the public about the Holocaust and the consequences of hate.
- Engage a broad public in a shared contemporary arts experience.
Educational programming will take place during the weeks preceding the Light ballet in collaboration with numerous Pittsburgh institutions and organizations. Programs on November 9 and 10 will commemorate Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, when, in 1938 the Nazis unleashed pogroms against the Jewish populace in Germany and Austria.
Collaborating Organizations
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Event Name: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents a Know Before You Go on
Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project
Event Location: 612 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Time: 12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m.
Visit: www.clpgh.org
Artist in Residence: Henry Koerner's Pittsburgh
Exhibit Name: Henry Koerner Art Exhibit, Curated by Joseph Leo Koerner
Exhibit Location: Chatham University Art Gallery, Woodland Hall on the University Quad
Dates: October 12, 2009-November 12, 2009
Times: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. or by appointment
National Catholic Conference for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University (NCCHE)
Event Name: Ethel Lefrak Holocaust Education Conference, Holocaust Education in the 21st Century: Religious and Cultural Perspectives
Event Location: Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA
Date: October 25-27, 2009
Times: Contact NCCHE at 724-830-1033 for a complete schedule, times and to register
South Side Works Cinema, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Jewish Israeli Film Festival
Event Name: Fateless
Event Location: South Side Works Cinema
Date: October 29, 2009
Time: TBD
The Senator John Heinz History Center
Exhibit Name: Rauh Jewish Archives Exhibit
Event Location: The Senator John Heinz History Center
Dates: November 1-30, 2009
Visit: www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the American Jewish Museum of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
Exhibit Name: Hitler Youth Exhibit Opening
Event Location: JCC Levinson Hall, Kaufman Building, 5738 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Dates: Opening Event, November 2, 2009 at 7 p.m. (exhibit runs until December 14th)
Times: Building hours, Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Fri., 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 1-6 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Visit: www.ujf.net
Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Event Name: Day-Long Teacher Symposium, "Education in the Third Reich"
Event Location: UJF Holocaust Center, 5738 Darlington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Date: November 2, 2009
Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Visit: www.ujf.net
Christian Associates of SWPA and Temple Sinai of Pittsburgh, with Assistance from the Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Event Name: Panel Discussion, "Of Faith and Kristallnacht"
Event Location: The Good Shepard Lutheran Church, 4503 Old William Penn Highway, Monroeville, PA 15146
Date: November 4, 2009
Time: In the evening, TBD
Visit: www.casp.org
Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the German Department of the University of Pittsburgh
Event Name: Lecture, The Use of Comic Books in Teaching the Holocaust
Event Location: The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Levinson Hall, Kaufman Building, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Date: November 5, 2009
Time: 8 p.m.
Visit: www.ujf.net
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
Event Name: Maurcie Sendak's Production of Brundibar
Event Location: CAPA Theater, 111 Ninth St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Dates and Times: November 6 at 7:30 p.m.; November 7 at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.; November 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Visit: operatheaterpittsburgh.org
Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Event Name: Three Rivers Film Festival, Special Film Event
Event Location: Harris Theater
Dates: November 6-21, 2009
Visit: www.pghfilmmakers.org
Carnegie Mellon School of Music
Event Name: Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Concert
Event Location: Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland
Date: November 9, 2009
Time: 8 p.m.
Visit: www.music.cmu.edu
Jewish Studies Program and the German Department of the University of Pittsburgh, with assistance from the Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Event Name: German Jewish Immigrants and Their Contributions to the American Film Industry
Event Location: University of Pittsburgh, room and building TBD
Date: November 10, 2009
Time: 4 p.m.
Event Name: Remembrances of Kristallnacht with Survivor, Fritz Ottenheimer, Followed by a Showing of the Documentary Film, Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood
Event Location: Frick Fine Arts Buliding, University of Pittsburgh, Schenely Drive
Date: November 11, 2009
Time: 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Agency for Jewish Learning - Poland Study Tour
Exhibit Name: Poland, Personally
Exhibit Location: Byham Theater
Dates: November 12-15, 2009
Times: In conjunction with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project
Visit: www.ajlpittsburgh.org
Winchester Thurston School
Exhibit Name: Journals of the Holocaust
Exhibit Location: Byham Theater
Dates: November 12-15, 2009
Times: In conjunction with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project
Visit: www.winchesterthurston.org
Exhibit Name: Student Holocaust Museum
Exhibit Location: Winchester Thurston School Gallery
Dates: November 20, 2009-January 15, 2010
Visit: www.winchesterthurston.org
More about the ballet production
For questions regarding support of Light, please contact:
Jodi Ahnmark, Director of Corporate and Individual Development
412-454-9136 or