If we have a lot of dancers,please form circles around the dance guidesdancing in the center.
A Quick Note About Levels:
Level Intro/ABC .................... Very Easy
Level 1 .................................. Easy
Level 2 .................................. Challenging
Level 3 .................................. Very Challenging
The Mitzvah Tanz - A Chassidic Wedding Dance
Following the custom of honoring a bride, the Mitzvah Tanz (Yiddish for "Mitzvah Dance") is danced when Rabbis and men in a Chassidic community rejoice in song and dance in the presence of a bride.
If we have a lot of dancers,please form circles around the dance guidesdancing in the center.
A Quick Note About Levels:
Level Intro/ABC .................... Very Easy
Level 1 .................................. Easy
Level 2 .................................. Challenging
Level 3 .................................. Very Challenging
The Yemenite Dance
Here we see Ofra Haza (the Barbara Streisand of Isaral) singing and dancing a Yemenite song and wearing the traditional Yemenite bridal attire. Ofra's family are Temani (Yemenite) Religious Jews who made aliyah (emigrated) to Israel. Most of her songs are about God, and this one is from her album of traditional religious songs. Unfortunately, she died young, but she is remembered with love by Jews around the world.
Here we see what the Yemenite step looks like in a traditional Yemenite dance. It is a basic step in Yemenite dances.
No Longer Slaves .......................................... (Level 1)
If we have a lot of dancers,please form circles around the dance guidesdancing in the center.
A Quick Note About Levels:
Level Intro/ABC .................... Very Easy
Level 1 .................................. Easy
Level 2 .................................. Challenging
Level 3 .................................. Very Challenging
IFD Community Dancing
This week, I want to give you a quick peek into an Israeli Folk Dance (IFD) gathering at one of the many community centers throughout Israeli cities. When I (Joy) used to live in Israel, I would attend one of the community dance centers in my area. Once a week, there would be a community dance practice in most communities and the dance hall would always fill up with people dancing in circles or lines. The admission fee was cheap, at the time, 7 shekels (about $2) per evening. It was so much fun!
During national celebration holidays and on a few Biblical holy days, something similar would happen outside in the streets of Jerusalem. There would be joyful Israeli music blaring and hundreds of people walking in the streets. Suddenly, one group would start dancing and then dance would start breaking out all over the place as groups of people formed circles. It was amazing!
This video is very short, only a little over one minute. But it gives you a great sense of the atmosphere of Jewish community dancing. Here they are dancing to one of my favorite songs, "Eretz Nehederet" (A Wonderful Country.) Enjoy!
Here is an example of Jewish community dancing in the streets.
