Bruce Bierman

Bruce Bierman is a dance and theater teaching artist, performer, choreographer, and co-artistic director of the award-winning Yiddish Theatre Ensemble in Berkeley. As a director/choreographer with YTE, his work includes:  The Megilleh of Itzik Manger (starring Naomi Newman), Between Worlds (based on the life and work of Irene Klepfisz), and the video adaptation of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance. He also served as Yiddish Dance and Theater Dramaturg—guiding the development, research, and cultural context—for Paula Vogel’s Tony Award–winning Indecent for several productions including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, YTE's co-production with the San Francisco Playhouse and Lesher Center for the Performing Arts.

As a dance leader, Bruce is known for his joyful, inclusive approach inviting everyone onto the dance floor and into the pleasures of Yemenite, Hasidic, klezmer, and classic rikud ha’am traditions. He has brought his Joy of Jewish Dance programs to festivals, museums, and cultural institutions throughout California, including the L.A. Skirball Cultural Center, the S.F. Contemporary Jewish Museum, and KlezCalifornia Yiddish Festivals. Bruce is also one of the founders and organizers of the monthly Joy of Jewish Music & Dance, now in its third year in Berkeley.  

A returning guest artist at KlezmerQuerque, Bruce delights in creating spaces where dance, music, theater, and folks from all backgrounds come together in pure joy.

We are very excited and fortunate that Bruce’s husband and professional dancer Gilberto Melendez will be joining us this weekend for surprise performances and co-leading classes!! Gilberto Melendez began his career as a dancer in Managua, Nicaragua as the most sought-after dance partner for every fiesta in town.  Upon arrival in Los Angeles, he focused his studies on ballet, flamenco and tango as a student of some of the leading teachers in their fields including:  Sonya Van Beer, the prima ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet, and master flamenco teacher Roberto Amaral. Performance credits include:  Principal dancer in El Gato Montes starring Placido Domingo, The Nutcracker with the Palos Verdes Ballet, and The Megilleh of Itzik Manger with the Berkeley Jewish Music Festival. Gilberto also serves on the staff of Lighthouse for the Blind and performs and co-leads the Joy of Jewish Dance workshops with his husband, Bruce Bierman.