ABOUT LEA
Lea Kalisch aka REBBETZIN LEA is a Swiss-born, NYC-bred Jewish singer, songwriter, producer and entertainer.
In 2020 she became known as the "Eshet Chayil of Hip Hop" with her debut single and Music video of
the same name. She has since been stopped on the street by strangers recognizing her as the
#shtreimalgirl. Lea creates eclectic, JEWCY music, blending languages and styles, like a
smoothie. From Hasidic to Hip Hop, Rap to Rumba, she does it all. She's a SHTETL Neshume and a Jewish glamour QUEEN.
Her goal: To sing in Yiddish at the
super bowl with a shtreimal on her head!
Someone should dump
a big bucket of water
over you cause you are FIRE and I love your guts!
Benjamin F.
Her zest of life is worth spending time with!
Margaret
The only Jewish woman in the world who owns a shtreimel.
YouTube Fan
Ambitious, Clever, Dizzying, Thought-provoking, Entertaining
a multi-talented, multi-lingual young woman!
Culture Vulture (Show-score)
PRESS
20 Minuten
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"«Möchte Brücken schlagen zwischen Palästina und Israel
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Zurich, December, 2023
Lea Kalisch (29) wäre gern die jüdische Madonna. Die Sängerin, Songwriterin, Produzentin und Entertainerin wuchs in Zürich auf und wanderte als 19-Jährige in die USA aus. In der Schweiz fühlt sie sich zu laut und zu energetisch, in den USA jedoch sehr europäisch. Bekannt wurde sie im Jahr 2020 mit ihrer Debütsingle «Eshet Chayil des Hip Hop». Seither wird sie in den USA auf der Strasse erkannt und als «shtreimalgirl» bezeichnet. Die ambitionierte Musikerin erzählt im Video von ihrem Werdegang und davon, wie sie mit ihrer Kunst zwischen Palästina und Israel Brücken schlagen will.
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NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG
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"Die rappende Frau eines Rabbiners"
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Zurich, July 11, 2023
Lea Kalisch will mit ihrer Musik die jüdische Kultur öffnen. Streng religiöse Juden feinden sie an, liberale feiern sie
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Jerome Hill Foundation
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"It is my mission to share the rich Jewish culture with ALL people by creating new, deep and entertaining Jewish content that CLASHES with other cultural traditions."
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ST. PAUL, MN, January 13, 2023— The Jerome Foundation is pleased to announce the 2023 grant recipients in the third round of the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships program. 54 Fellowships are being awarded (8 in each in the fields of dance; film, video and digital production; literature; music; theater, performance and spoken word; and visual arts, and 3 in each of the newly added fields of technology centered arts and combined artistic fields) to early-career artists based in Minnesota and New York City.
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NY JEWISH WEEK
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Yiddish rapping, shtreimel wearing Lea Kalisch says she doesn’t ‘run’ toward controversy
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One-of-a-kind Jewish musician Lea Kalisch, a 28-year-old native of Switzerland, said that her dream gig is to perform in Yiddish at the Super Bowl half-time show.
Since the NFL hasn’t called — yet — the singer is making do with writing and performing her own humorous, original songs.
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NY Jewish Week (JTA)
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I Like To Clash Different Worlds
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Swiss-born actor Lea Kalisch is 25, exuberant, confident, athletic, with high energy and a sense that everything is possible. She loves New York, loves being around Jews. All sorts of Jews. And she loves to dance salsa. While she lives in English these days, she speaks French and German fluently, and also knows Yiddish, Spanish, Italian and some Hebrew.
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Shoutout LA
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Meet Lea Kalisch | Actor, Singer, Entertainer & Teaching Artist
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Hi Lea, what role has risk played in your life or career?
People who don’t take risks are boring. I always look for opportunities where I am forced to step out of my comfort zone, which is risky, but it’s thrilling and keeps things interesting for myself and others. If I want to become better at what I do, I have to take risks, I have to try new things, I have to fall on my face- there’s no way around it.
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SWISS INFO (German)
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Der Traum von der grossen Bühne
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In New York möchte sie als Schauspielerin und Sängerin durchstarten.
Lea Kalisch hat dort ihre Nische gefunden und gelernt: Den grossen Durchbruch zu erleben, ist für sie genauso wichtig, wie davon zu träumen.
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