The Rabbi Jacob dance is a memorable scene of the French cult film The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973). Victor Pivert (played by Louis de Funès), an anti-Semitic and generally bigoted industrialist, is on the run disguised as Rabbi Jacob. He is dragged into a traditional Hasidic dance on the Rue des Rosiers, the central street of Pletzl, the Jewish quarter in Paris and does surprisingly well.[1] The dance scene has gained just as much of a cult status as the film itself and there are numerous videos on the Internet with groups of people dancing it.[2]
The dance was choreographed by French-Israeli choreographer Ilan Zaoui. He founded the company Kol Aviv, for which he choreographed traditional Jewish dances.[3] Initially there was no dance scene planned in the film. Director Gérard Oury wanted to incorporate an element of Jewish tradition and was thinking about Rabbi Jacob playing a violin like a virtuoso, so Zaoui was considered as a musician.[2][4] However, his choreography caught the attention of the film's team, and one of the dances of the troupe was adapted for the film.[3][5]
The klezmer music for the dance was written by Philippe Gumplowicz and Vladimir Cosma.[3]
The dance was actually shot in Rue Jean-Jaurès in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris. The scenery of Rue des Rosiers was reconstructed in an area which was being demolished at the time.[6] It took 10 days of rehearsals at a studio in Boulogne-Billancourt.[7] Zaoui himself taught de Funès the choreography. He recalls: "It was simply great to work with Louis de Funès. He was an extremely professional and diligent actor. We have created an almost friendly relationship."[8][9] The general rehearsals took place on the stage of the Gérard Philippe theater in Saint Denis.[citation needed] De Funès commented in relation to this scene: "I have to dance as well as the Jewish dancers. The comic effect does not come from the ridiculousness, on the contrary!".[10][4] Vladimir Cosma remembers: "I rehearsed with him for several weeks at home at the piano. I saw a very serious gentleman, diligently repeating the dance steps, without any fantasy. I wondered how he could make people laugh. The day I saw him shoot the scene, I couldn't believe it. Having mastered the technique of his steps, he became uninhibited and with each take was bringing new gags with incredible spontaneity and fluidity."[11]
In 2018, a flash mob of 100 at the Place de la République in Lille performed the dance under the guidance of Zaoui.[12] A similar flash mob of 200 gathered in 2019 in Paris to celebrate the 105th anniversary of Louis de Funès.[1][13]
References
edit- ^ a b "Rabbi Jacob : 200 personnes reprennent sa danse dans un flashmob à Paris. Un cadeau pour l'anniversaire de Louis de Funès, qui aurait eu 105 ans le 31 juillet." [Rabbi Jacob: 200 people resume his dance in a flashmob in Paris. A gift for the birthday of Louis de Funès, who would have been 105 on July 31.], franceinfo, July 10, 2019
- ^ a b Jérôme Lachass, "LES AVENTURES DE RABBI JACOB: "LA SCÈNE DE LA DANSE N'ÉTAIT PAS INSCRITE DANS LE SCÉNARIO"", BFM TV, October 3, 2018
- ^ a b c Samuel Blumenfeld, "« Rabbi Jacob », le film qui métamorphosa Louis de Funès", Le Monde, March 20, 2020 (copy outside then paywall)
- ^ a b Paul Guermonprez "Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, France 2 : les secrets de la danse culte de Louis de Funès", Télé Star, January 1, 2017
- ^ #CRIF - ET SI NOUS REPARLIONS DES AVENTURES DE RABBI JACOB ? 4 QUESTIONS À ILAN ZAOUI, PAR MARC KNOBEL [HOW ABOUT WE TALK ABOUT THE ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB? 4 QUESTIONS TO ILAN ZAOUI, BY MARC KNOBEL] February 13, 2017
- ^ "Louis de Funès – Rabbi Jacob dances in Saint-Denis"
- ^ "Quatre raisons de (re)voir “Rabbi Jacob” avec les enfants", Télérama, July 10, 2019
- ^ "Ilan Zaoui, le chorégraphe de Rabbi Jacob revient avec le spectacle « Kibboutz »", The Times of Israel, October 28, 2018
- ^ "INTERVIEW CRIF - CHORÉGRAPHE DE 'RABBI JACOB', FONDATEUR D'ADAMA : ENTREZ DANS LA DANSE AVEC ILAN ZAOUI", October 25, 2018
- ^ Olivier de Funès, Patrick de Funès, Louis de Funès : « Ne parlez pas trop de moi, les enfants ! », 2005, Quote: " Il faut que je danse aussi bien que les danseurs juifs. L'effet comique ne vient pas du ridicule, au contraire!"
- ^ "Vladimir Cosma : “De Funes, c'est un double rythme”", Interview with Vladimir Cosma by Olivier Reichmann, France News Live, October 24, 2021 (republished from Premieres Classiques, no.6, January–March 2019)
- ^ "L'INFO QU'IL NE FALLAIT SURTOUT PAS MANQUER - LE FLASHMOB "RABBI JACOB" AU CŒUR DE LILLE", October 5, 2018
- ^ "La danse de Rabbi Jacob de retour dans le Marais parisien le temps d'un flashmob". BFM TV (in French). 11 July 2021.
External links
edit- Interview de M. Ilan Zaoui du 24 juillet 2013 par Franck et Jérôme, an interview in which Ilan Zaoui tells the details of the work on the dance at an unofficial website about Louis de Funès