Israeli Folk Dancing: A View from Inside the Circle

 History of Israeli dancing  [Article 1]

 History of Israeli dancing [Article 2]

Why is this fun? By Howard Wachtel

What About the Music? [by April, posted on Rikud@yahoogroups.com, 11/2003]

Israeli Dance is, and always has been, danced to contemporary music.

 “Why is this?” you may ask. Well, remember, Israel is a contemporary country, just over 50 years old. A country’s music generally reflects its demographics and, boy, does  Israel have demographics! People there come from far and wide: Europe, Russia, South America, North America, Africa, and other Middle Eastern countries. If you listen, you can hear influences from all these places reflected in the music played for the dances.

Currently, some popular singers and groups include Sarit Haddad (the ‘techno queen’ of Israel), Eyal Golan, Shlomi Shabat, Shlomo Artzi, Rita, Noachim Nini, Etnix, Rami Kleinstein, Tipex, and Gaia. Of course, this is an abbreviated list — just as in the US, there are many  more. Additionally, Israeli dance taps into music from other countries and other cultures. Other than the  obvious Middle Eastern sources, dances have been choreographed to music from (or influenced by) Latin America, the US, India, and more. 

What do they sing about? The majority of the songs are about the universal musical subject of love, either of a girl, a boy, or Israel. Interested in the lyrics? Check out:

www.hebrewsongs.com