WHERE TO ISRAELI FOLK DANCE in Portland
IF YOU'RE NEW OR RETURNING TO DANCE, PLEASE CONFIRM TIME DETAILS WITH DANCE LEADERS LISTED BELOW, visit our FB page, or the What's App group.
Sunday afternoons, Southwest Community Center with Rhona & Sue has moved to the MJCC. See new location info above. We loved our 4 years at SWCC, and so excited to be back at the J !!
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Sunday afternoons Dancing at the J, 2nd and 4th Sundays,
MJCC with Rhona & Sue (See info above)
Beginners instruction and open dancing
Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 Capitol Hwy, Portland
2 pm - beginner level instruction, (all are welcome to stay for the whole session).
2:45 - warm-up with beginner dances followed by intermediate level open dancing, with some review and instruction.
Free to MJCC members, $6 non-members
Pre registration required*. Official photo ID required for entrance.
*Non-MJCC members: There is a 2-step process - create a membership, then register for the class/open dance -- start here https://operations.daxko.com/Online/5319/MembershipV2/MembershipTypes.mvc?_=639273319168985005 .
Please call the MJCC for registration assistance and or details 503-244-0111
Questions? Email Sue & Rhona at DancingattheJ@gmail.com
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Sunday evenings, Water Tower with Donna
Review & instruction, 7:30 pm followed by open dancing until 10:30+ pm
Water Tower Dance Hall, 8936 SW 17th Ave, Portland.
$7 at door
Questions? Email session leader Donna Cole at donna@donnacolestudio.com or pdxisraelidance@gmail.com
Bring your water bottle and change into your dance shoes when you arrive (this protects our beautiful dance floors)
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Monday evenings, Leedy Grange Hall with Donna
Review & instruction 7 pm, followed by open dance til 10 or 11 pm. $7
Leedy Grange, 835 NW Saltzman Rd in Cedar Mill. (Just east of the Target shared parking lot.)
Questions? Email Donna Cole at donna@donnacolestudio.com or pdxisraelidance@gmail.com
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Wednesday evening, Multnomah Arts Center Winter term with Rhona --
beginning and intermediate classes TBA starting in January.
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Thursday evenings, Cafe Shalom, Water Tower with Allison
Intermediate drop-in class 7-8 pm
Open dance 8 to 10 pm, starts with easy dances
Water Tower Dance Hall, 8936 SW 17th Ave, Portland. $7 or $12 (for both)
Questions? Email Allison Victor at allisuev@gmail.com
Contacts for local session leaders and teachers: (see their bios on the Why We Dance page)
Donna Cole - donna@donnacolestudio.com
Rhona Feldman - rhonaf@comcast.net, and DancingattheJ@gmail.com
Debbi Montrose - B'YACHAD PNW annual dance week-end - debbirm@aol.com
Allison Victor - allisuev@gmail.com
Sue Wendel - pifdnews@gmail.com and DancingattheJ@gmail.com
Please visit Facebook "Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland, OR" for the most current info.
You can join the What's App group via session leaders.
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What is Israeli Folk Dancing?
Excerpts from Israelidance.info - First, and most importantly, it is a lot of fun. [It's a cultural treasure] with great music, exercise, and friends...
Besides getting your endorphins flowing, and getting great exercise for your heart, you learn to move your body to music. To get better at dancing, there is no substitute for time-on-the-floor.
The music is from all over the world, old and new, with a huge variety of styles and rhythms. Some lyrics are from the bible and are thousands of years old. Many old favorites are pioneering songs from Israel's early days and are 50+ years old. [Hora Aggadati is over 100. Influences of steps include Middle Eastern, Eastern Europe, Russia and more. [The newer dances also have jazz, ballet, and other influences.]
Almost all of the songs are in Hebrew, many are remade from originals in other languages including Arabic, French, Greek, Spanish, Turkish and many other languages.
We do most dances in group circles, some in lines. Some of the dances we do with partners.
About "PIFD News" website and the Facebook page "Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland, OR"
Portland Israeli Folk Dance News website, and Facebook page were started after the 40 years of dancing in Portland celebration back in 2013.
PIFD News is a resource for basic Portland session/class info, and includes a B'YACHAD PNW page,
Portland dance history, and bios of some of the dancers in Portland. PIFD News (https://sites.google.com/site/pifdnews) managed by Sue Wendel. It has only intermittent updates.
The Facebook page, created by Candi Swan in 2013, is where to find the most current and timely announcements for all Portland sessions and classes and more. All Portland session leaders are admins for the FB page and can post announcements there at any time.
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New and returning dancers:
Did you know that the Portland area has weekly sessions and classes? Whether you haven't danced in a while (think summer camp or your college days), or want to try something new, we have it all covered. Each week dozens of dancers come together for friendship, exercise, and the joy of dance!
There is beginner and intermediate instruction, circle-line-couples dances, and most of all the joy of dancing, making new friends, and participating in this cultural treasure – over 50 years strong in Portland.
Please see Facebook "Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland, OR" for current news and info. Questions? Feel free to contact: Sue Wendel, session leader, instructor, and publisher, pifdnews@gmail.com if you have any questions. To join the What's App group, contact session leaders.
See details and history on this site. (Portland Israeli Folk Dance News: sites.google.com/site/pifdnews)