klezmer dance

[Helen Winkler <winklerh...>]

I?ve taught dancing in many venues, to different groups of people.  It can 
be very difficult to get adults to participate in any type of folk dancing 
at a public event(unless you have a few ringers in the crowd to keep things 
going); I think many people are just unfamiliar with the dancing and the 
music and do not want to be embarrassed.  I have had more success with 
children.  That is why I believe exposure to Jewish music and dance must 
begin in school well before the teenage years.  I have also found that many 
teachers  feel as uncomfortable as all the other adults about teaching 
dancing, and do not always have time to learn how to teach dance.    If 
people are not exposed to traditional music and dance throughout their 
lives, it is easy to see why many never become interested in it.

The other thing I?ve noticed is that quite often dance is treated as 
performance art rather than as something you can do for yourself.  If kids 
never dance and then in a short period of time are taught 2 dances that they 
are expected to do perfectly on a stage, they may actually dislike the whole 
experience.

Helen



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