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]

Rabbi Jacob dancing
A replica of Rabbi Jacob's costume at the Louis de Funès exposition, Cinémathèque Française

The dance was choreographed by French-Israeli choreographer Ilan Zaoui [fr]. 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

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  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Samuel Blumenfeld, "« Rabbi Jacob », le film qui métamorphosa Louis de Funès", Le Monde, March 20, 2020 (copy outside then paywall)
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ #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
  6. ^ "Louis de Funès – Rabbi Jacob dances in Saint-Denis"
  7. ^ "Quatre raisons de (re)voir “Rabbi Jacob” avec les enfants", Télérama, July 10, 2019
  8. ^ "Ilan Zaoui, le chorégraphe de Rabbi Jacob revient avec le spectacle « Kibboutz »", The Times of Israel, October 28, 2018
  9. ^ "INTERVIEW CRIF - CHORÉGRAPHE DE 'RABBI JACOB', FONDATEUR D'ADAMA : ENTREZ DANS LA DANSE AVEC ILAN ZAOUI", October 25, 2018
  10. ^ 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!"
  11. ^ "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)
  12. ^ "L'INFO QU'IL NE FALLAIT SURTOUT PAS MANQUER - LE FLASHMOB "RABBI JACOB" AU CŒUR DE LILLE", October 5, 2018
  13. ^ "La danse de Rabbi Jacob de retour dans le Marais parisien le temps d'un flashmob". BFM TV (in French). 11 July 2021.
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