Israeli dancing to Melbourne’s beat
AJN STAFF
 
A MELBOURNE woman’s rendition of Yerushalayim shel zahav has inspired a renowned Israeli choreographer to create a new dance.
Participating in Machol Israeli Dance Club’s recent weekend camp, choreographer Yoram Sasson heard Aura Lipski singing Naomi Shemer’s classic song during an informal sing-along.
“I asked Aura to repeat the song because I heard something really special in her voice which gave me an idea for a new dance,” Sasson said. “So we moved everybody to the dance floor and started to pull all the movements together.”
Machol’s director Shula Goldberg said Lipski was at first a bit surprised by Sasson’s reaction, “but Aura was thrilled when he added the new dance to his repertoire and asked her to record her version of the song”.¬†The dance, to Lipski’s rendition of Yerushalayim shel zahav, has since been added to Sasson’s repertoire and taught to European dancers at an event in Austria.
“Melbourne is one of the powerhouses of Israeli dancing outside Israel,” Goldberg said. “But we’ve never had a visiting choreographer create a new dance here.”¬†Sasson, one of Israel’s younger generation of choreographers, visited Australia last month to participate in Machol’s camp and to teach classes and workshops to Melbourne’s hundreds of keen Israeli dancers.
Enquiries about Machol Israeli Dancing Club on (03) 9528 2368.
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