Summary for February Forums Written by Givaa Tlula; Translated by Maxine Cohen What has kept the dancers busy this month? • Does the wave of price increases in the economy have to lead to an increase in the entrance fee to a dance session? Or, precisely because of the price increases, should the admission price remain the same? Iceman is asking the dance instructors to lower their prices! Link Naturally most of the dancers agree with him; there are also dance instructors who are of similar mind (Lior David, Oren Bechar) and invite the dancers to chose the less expensive sessions and keep away from the higher priced ones. • Once a month choreographers, dance instructors, and dancers congregate at Kibbutz Ginegar for an evening with a special atmosphere of Kabbalat Shabbat. There are dances and songs and, naturally, delicacies, each evening centered around a different theme or subject. Ilana and Yair Bino organize the event and invitations. You can read about it in Iris's wonderful report: Link The question was posed as to whether it is possible to move a dance session, as it is, to another location so that more dancers could attend. Or, is it precisely the place, the atmosphere, and the frequency of the meetings, which creates the charm? The dancers are divided in their opinions. Link • Is folk dancing part of Israeli culture and art? Should it benefit from the dance budget which totals 25 million shekels! Is this a political matter? This is an interesting and important point for discussion. In the opinion of Nili Cohen, the person in charge of the distribution of the funds on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, “Folk dancing is not defined as dance. Accordingly, it is not a recognized part of Israeli culture. There is no reason why we should subsidize it in the State budget.” You can read about this matter as expressed by a dancer who has investigated it: Link • Has oriental music taken over the dance sessions? Has oriental music "won" over western music? Does the amazing story of Yossi Gispan, one of today's leading oriental music composers, reveal to us another aspect of this music? Is oriental music of poorer quality than western music, as implied by the words of several writers? * see below for explanation of the term, “oriental” music. You can read about these questions and more: Link Another thread was opened by Yemenite Rap. He summarizes the matter in the most politically correct and charming way, by demonstrating what stigma is attached to the terminology. Link His post contains the words to songs written by "oriental" lyricists and the words to songs composed by "western" lyricists. If we did not know who wrote what, we would have determined otherwise. • The Irgun HaRokdim website has been overhauled. Congratulations to those active behind the scenes: Yardena, Harry, Danny, Vered and others. Link Dancers and dance instructors are invited to read, respond, and relate what they think about the site and their experiences at the dance sessions. Link Here, dancers comment about dance sessions, shower compliments on the instructor, discuss the problem of the noise level at the sessions, the price increases, and other timely topics. Every month the organization's site has an interview with a dance instructor. "In the Slippers Corner" this month is an interview with Moshe Telem by interviewers, Adi and Atara. The interview and the responses to it may be viewed at: Link Have a good month and happy dancing! * "Oriental Music," aka Mizrahi music, refers to the genre of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean style of Israeli music. It combines elements of Arabic, Turkish and Greek music.