Ahava was inspired by the connection between the choreographer, Toneta Akers-Toler, whose father was a WWII soldier and concentration camp liberator, and a friend’s father, Dr. Reimar Schultze, a German part-Jew and Holocaust survivor. Research into this period of history led the choreographer to portray the survivor’s story as well as the untold stories of lost youth of this generation. Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged bird sings sets the stage for this piece and works by Jewish and American composers who were banned by the Nazis are integrated, cutting off abruptly at times to symbolize how quickly freedom can be taken away. This piece poses the question, “Does any of us really have freedom, if one of us does not?”
In 2006, the United Nations instituted an International Day of Commemoration, declaring that, “the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one-third of the Jewish people along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.”
