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Site title
Yiddish Dance
Keywords
Jewish dance, Jewish, dance, klezmer dance,
klezmer, Yiddish dance, Yiddish, Israeli dance, Israel, Jewish music, music,
klezmer music, shtetl, shtetl dance, shtetl music, broiges, mitzvah dance,
beggar dance, mitzvah tantz, freilach, freylekh, frel
Description
A resource page of Eastern European
Jewish Dances
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<title>Yiddish Dance</title><meta name="description" content="A resource page of Eastern European
Jewish Dances">
<meta name="keywords" content="Jewish dance, Jewish, dance, klezmer dance,
klezmer, Yiddish dance, Yiddish, Israeli dance, Israel, Jewish music, music,
klezmer music, shtetl, shtetl dance, shtetl music, broiges, mitzvah dance,
beggar dance, mitzvah tantz, freilach, freylekh, frelach, fraelachs, frelach,
hora, bulgar, patsh tanz, paatch dance, kosher dance, patch dance,sher, sherele,
Russian sher, rekud, koilitch dance, koilitch, Vizonsky, Lapson"></head>
<body background="images/back.gif" link="#000080">
<p align="left"><b><font color="#800080" face="Papyrus" size="5">Helen's
Yiddish Dance Page<br>
Dances of The Jews of
Eastern Europe</font></b></p>
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<p align="right"><strong>
<font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="4">דף ריקודי יידיש של הלן<br>
</font></strong><font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="4"><strong>
ריקודים של יהודי מזרח אירופה</strong></font></p></td>
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<div>
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</font><div>
<font face="Arial" size="2"> </font><p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"> </font></p></div>
<font face="Arial" size="2"> </font></div>
<table id="table1" border="0" width="770">
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<td colspan="4" align="left" bgcolor="#ffd2ff">
<a href="yizkortranslation.html"><font color="#0000ff">
</font><font color="#0000ff" face="Trebuchet MS"><b>Yizkor Book
Translation</b></font></a><font color="#0000ff"> </font>
<font face="Arial"><b>Can you help?</b></font></td>
<td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#ffd2ff" valign="top" width="302">
<p align="left"><b><font face="Arial" size="2"><br>
</font></b><br>
<br>
<font face="Arial"><b><font size="2">
<a href="zamler.html">Become a Zamler</a> and help reveal new
information about Yiddish Dance. <br>
<a href="zamler.html">Send</a> us
your memories.</font></b></font></p></td>
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<tr>
<td align="left" width="101">
<a href="Researchphotos.html">
<img src="A%20stamp.jpg" border="0" height="79" width="101"></a></td>
<td align="left" width="142">
<b><font color="#800080" face="Papyrus" size="4">
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/bjcc.html">
<img src="Jul00018.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="79" width="136"></a></font></b></td>
<td align="right" width="150"><b><font color="#800080" face="Papyrus" size="4">
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/ofdapics.html">
<img src="shining2sepia.jpg" border="0" height="79" width="150"></a></font></b></td>
<td width="53"><a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/moishedancer.html"><img src="e-michael%203964.jpg" border="0" height="79" width="52"></a></td>
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<font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="1"><b>
<a href="Researchphotos.html">Research Cafe </a>with Judith Cohen,<br>
Toronto,<br>
March, 2006</b></font></td>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="142">
<b><font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="1"><font color="#0000ff">
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/bjcc.html">See pics</a></font> from
<br>
Weintraub /Winkler <br>
Yiddish Dance Workshop</font><font color="#003399" face="Arial" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="1">Toronto, July 2005</font></b></td>
<td align="right" width="150">
<p align="left"><b><font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="1">
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/ofdapics.html">See Pics</a> from
OFDA Cafe<br>
Toronto, May 2005<br>
</font></b></p></td>
<td valign="top" width="53"><b><font color="#800080" face="Arial" size="1">
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/moishedancer.html">Moishe Dancing</a>
with Michael Wex????</font></b></td>
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<table bordercolorlight="#C0C0C0" bordercolordark="#C0C0C0" bgcolor="#ffd2ff" border="0" height="232" width="751">
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<td valign="top" width="154"><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2"><b><a href="resourcepage.html">Resource
Page</a> <br>
<a href="assorted.html">Dance
Descriptions</a> <br>
<a href="dance_stories.html">Dance
Stories</a> <br>
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/events.html">Events</a>
<br>
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/winnipeg.html">Klezzing
in the Peg</a> <br>
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/transmigrations.htm">Transmigrations</a><br>
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/ofdapics.html">Gallery</a> <br>
<a href="http://www.yiddishdance.com/tantslieder.html">Tantslieder</a></b></font><a href="yizkortranslation.html"><font color="#0000ff"><br>
</font><b><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">Yizkor
Book Translation</font></font></b></a><p> </p></td>
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<img src="Ashkenaz08.jpg" border="0" height="225" width="300"></td>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><i><b> <br> Mayn Freylekhs un Mayn Sher<br><br></b></i></font><font face="Arial" size="2"> A Polka, a Hopke, a stately Quadrille<br>
Let every person dance what they will...<br>
For me, the Sher that my father danced<br>
In childhood will do...<br>
Or, in step with both generations<br>
Even a Freylekhs or two!</font><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="vertical-align: super; font-weight: 700;">1</span></font>
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<td valign="top" width="312">
<p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="1">Yiddish dancing at
Ashkenaz 2008<br>
Photo By Dina Roginsky</font></p></td>
<td rowspan="2" valign="top"><font face="Arial" size="1">
<span style="vertical-align: super;">1</span>After Motl Talalyevsky, Mayn
Freylekhs un Mayn Sher, Chana Mlotek, "Concerning a Convicted
Soviet-Jewish Poet," Forverts, Sept. 19-25, 2008; translation by Joseph
A. Levine, "Yiddish Dance Songs," <br>
Journal of Synagogue Music, Fall 2010 </font></td>
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<td colspan="2" height="57" valign="top" width="471"><b><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">
<br>
Introduction
or Why I Decided to do This Page</span></font></b></td>
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<td><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2">
I have been involved in international and Israeli folk dancing for a
long time. I was aware that Israeli dances sometimes had Eastern
European/Chasidic influence. That's where my knowledge ended. One day,
while I was reading about Chasidic dance as part of preparation for my
Canadian Dance Teacher's Association exam, I came upon a statement to
the effect that Patsh Tanz was a traditional wedding dance used to
welcome new brides into the fold of married women. It was like they say
"Columbus discovered America" for me. Did this mean that there were
traditional Jewish folk dances in Eastern Europe that were associated
with the wedding ritual? Thanks to the internet, I found out about a
book by Nathan Vizonsky that described a number of these dances. Thanks
to the Jewish-Music internet discussion group, I met some people who
are also interested in our dance heritage and referred me to other
references and experts in the field. This web page explains what I have
found so far. <br>
<br>
I welcome comments, links and dance descriptions from other like-minded
individuals. You may ask, why did this dance form almost disappear from
the Jewish community. To be honest, it did not actually disappear.
Chasidic Jews continue to do their own version of traditional dances
(but even their dances are changing e.g. women's simkhe dances).
However, for the rest of us I think it's safe to say that the dances did
virtually disappear (except for a modern rendition of the freylekhs).
The most tragic reason for this is the holocaust; the communities where
the dances were done were destroyed as were the people. Those that were
left assimilated into modern society. The state of Israel was
created, drawing attention to a new and vibrant Israeli folk dance
culture.<br>
<br>
The decline of klezmer music and dance in America is explored in an
article by Zev Feldman. He points out that klezmer music was
marginalized by the Jewish community and was never supported by Jewish
institutions such as schools and synagogues. Without this support the
music could not survive very long in the transplanted Jewish community.
Because more secular values were adopted by American Jews, the community
also actually chose to discard traditional dances that had previously
been associated with orthodox Jewish weddings.<br>
<br>
However, klezmer is with us again, revived and revitalized, as they say.
Who can sit still when listening to this fantastic music? You have to
dance. There is a beautiful simplicity to traditional dances like the
freylekhs, that welcomes everyone to join in, regardless of age,
virtuosity or experience. It's time to bring these dances back into our
lives, to celebrate together, to enjoy. It is a testament to the
resilience of the Jewish people that we are still here, and we are still
dancing.<br>
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<td><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="2"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">A
Cautionary Note</span></b><br>
If you read about shtetl dances or watch old Yiddish movies, you will
come to realize that the dances usually involved a good deal of
improvisation; i.e. they weren't choreographed dances. You will also
notice that the dance descriptions in all of the folk dance books are
choreographed to suit the recreational dance setting. The dances now
being taught at the klezmer dance workshops tend to be more like the
shtetl versions. Hopefully there will soon be videos and books that
reflect this. Perhaps some of you out in cyber land would like to write
descriptions of how you do these dances in your groups.<br>
<br>
As with all folk dancing, the best way to learn the dances is from
someone who knows how to do them rather than using a cookbook approach.
The difficulty remains that not everyone can attend the workshops for
financial/geographical reasons. So, here is a place to start learning.
Hopefully, some day, these dance traditions will once again be passed
down the generations within each community.<br>
<br>
The dance descriptions I have found are not specific as to region or
shtetl. At the present time I don