Art City at Karmiel Dance Festival

Last Wednesday night, August 5th, the Art City dance group performed in front of more than 10,000 in the Karmiel amphitheatre. It was one of 9 groups chosen to be in the performance/competition. Ira was there and told me that the competition was intense. None of the groups were announced by name or place of origin. They just performed--one dance for about 4 or 5 minutes. The dance needed to have some sort of traditional Jewish theme. Art City's was music from the end of the Seder, and plain white rectangles which represented tallitot were a part of the dance. Ira said that the dance was quite complex and dramatic--with different blocks of the 20+ dancers doing different, complex things at the same time.

The competition was quite stiff, with groups of teen dancers representing the major cities in Israel. One did an amazing performance, with dancers representating different animals in Noah's Ark. Ira thinks that they took the top prize.

While the Art City group did not win any of the top three performances, they were "ooo-ed" and "awwwwwed" by the audience. They did an amazing job, holding their own among the stiff extremely talented national competition. I was so excited to hear Ira describe what they did and how the audience reacted, and I can imagine how excited all the teens were to be able to perform on that stage and in front of so many people.

It is hard to believe that this dance group began less than two years ago. Kol hakavod to them and to TIPS for supporting this amazing endeavor.

The Kiryat Malachi Art City Dance Group Tzuza won second place amongst 60 groups competing for the best in jazz on Thursday evening. There competed against 60 other groups, so the 2nd place award was VERY impressive.

Counselors from Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon--US Shabbat experiences

On Saturday, August 8th, counselors from Hof Ashkelon and Kiryat Malachi working at the Stroum JCC on Mercer Island, were invited as guests to the Herzl Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation Shabbat services. Nancy Height Morse, one of the host parents for the counselors, read Torah, and the counselors were briefly introduced and told a bit about themselves and their experineces. The counselors are in the US for six weeks to add Jewish and Israeli content to the JCC camp.

Adapted from the OC Register in Orange County:
On Saturday, Aug. 1, two special guests spoke following an instrumental Shabbat Service at Temple Beth Emet in Anaheim.
The guests are Youth Ambassadors in the United States as part of an America-Israel Friendship League program. The mission of the AIFL is to strengthen the ties between the people of the United States and Israel; bridging distances to reveal the beauty, the humanity and the modern democratic values that define both nations.
Safir Shalev lives on Moshav Geha in the Ashketon Coast Region near Kiryat Malachi, and is in the 11th grade at the Shikma School in Yad Mordechai. She has been active as a counselor in the Bnai Moshavim Youth Movement.
Noy Sujaz is from Kiryat Malachi and is in the 11th grade at the Amal High School. Noy is active in the Kiryat Malachi Youth Council. She volunteers in the Tzeva after-school tutoring program with elementary school children.
The Instrumental Shabbat, which begins at 10 a.m., is a special recurring feature of worship at Beth Emet. It is part of the Temple's commitment to explore and expand the spiritual nature of traditional Jewish worship. The congregation invites everyone to the Kiddush and to visit with our speakers following services.