Misc. Memories

Israel @ 70 Dance Celebration, June 23rd, 2018

Recap: Israel @ 70! Celebration Through Dance, Music, and Food! was Sat. June 23rd.

WHAT A FANTASTIC EVENT!! THANK YOU LIOR AND EVERYONE FOR YOUR

PARTICIPATION AND PASSION FOR ISRAELI DANCING!!

For photos, please see our Facebook page: Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland, OR

Last spring when the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland invited groups to join in and help celebrate Israel@70 throughout the year, Debbi Montrose and her sister Sue Wendel said what better way to continue the celebration than through Israeli folk dance, music, food and camaraderie. On June 23rd, from 4 pm to 11 pm, over 70 enthusiastic dancers - 4-years-old to 70+, celebrated Israel’s 70th Anniversary at the Mittlleman Jewish Community Center.

There were break-out sessions for family and partner dancing, and for those who love the classics and the modern line dances. A scrumptious buffet and a festive dance party rounded out the event. Sessions were led by Israeli dancer extraordinaire from LA, Lior Haykeen, and local dance leaders Ruti Kenan, Avi Tayar, and Duane Robbins. The event was made possible by the generous support from the JFGP, MJCC, and the many volunteers who helped day-of. A big round of thanks to everyone who made this dance event possible!

Official sponsors: Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and Mittlemann Jewish Community Center.

Dance leaders: Lior Haykeen – Masters class, Welcome session, Line dance and Party; Ruti Kenan – Family dance; Avi Tayar – Partner dance; and Duane Robbins – Classic dance.

Volunteers who helped with registration, other day-of tasks, and hospitality included: Deb Montrose, Abby Menashe, Elise Montrose, Sarah, Zack, and Michelle Coblens, Hy and Myra Jackson, Alan Montrose, Sasson and Rikki Nouri, Rut Hen, and Gary Sherman. And, Diane Betcher for the History of Portland Israeli Folk Dance display. See text on this site.

With special thanks to Century Catering; Lenny Steinberg, MJCC; and Marc Blattner, JFGP.

Thank you dancers who came from near and, volunteers, and supporters for your participation and passion for Israeli folk dance! Israeli folk dancing has been a vibrant aspect of Jewish life in Portland for nearly 50 years. Each week there are local dance sessions around the metro area to enjoy. To see more photos of Israel@70 Celebration Through Dance please visit our Facebook page: Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland, OR.

Keep dancing in body, mind, and spirit!

Sue Wendel and Debbi Montrose, Co-coordinators

IF YOU HAVE PHOTOS TO SHARE TO THE FACEBOOK ALBUM, PLEASE SEND THEM TO pifdnews@gmail com.

Scroll down a bit to see 5 Blasts that described the event.

Last Blast #5 - Israel@70 Celebration Through Dance

Hi registrants, dancers and friends,

We are so excited for Sat. June 23rd Israel@70 Celebration Through Dance! For those still considering: June 19 was the last day to register for the dinner. See online. But, you can continue to register for the dance sessions and party online, and even in-person up to day of.

We look forward to celebrating Israel's 70th with dance, music, food, and camaraderie with Lior and all of you. We hope you will join us, and help us to give a big welcome to Lior Haykeen from LA, who will bring her energy and passion of Israeli dance to share with our Portland area community.

All the best,

Debbi and Sue

Blast #4:

Hello registered dancers and soon-to-be registrants!

Thank you so much for those who have registered for Israel@70 Celebration Through Dance, Music, and Food on Sat. June 23^rd at the J. Registering (in particular the buffet) by the stated deadline of Sat., June 16th was to ensure that we have enough food for the fantastic buffet.

Blast #4 - We are now happy and able to extend the deadline for the dinner reservation untilTuesday, June 19th! We are excited to share this info with you, so if you haven't yet, please register for the dinner, and of course the dancing as well, online now.

Recall, in Blast #1 you were introduced to the event, and in Blast #2 you were introduced to our special guest dance leader from LA, Lior Haykeen (see PIFD News). In Blast #3 we had a fun request for your favorite dances and have received dozens of names of dances to build into our playlist for the Classics Session and Party - thank you!

We look forward to seeing everyone - young through not-so-young, beginners to advanced dancers - at this exciting event that has something for everyone!

Together in dance!

Debbi and Sue

Blast #3:

Dance Requests Wanted for Israel@70 Celebration

Through Dance, Music & Food, Sat., June 23rd at the MJCC!

Email your favorites as a name or an mp3 file to pifdnews@gmail.com

Hi registrants and future registrants!

Thank you so much for those who have registered for Israel@70 Celebration Through Dance, Music, and Food on Sat. June 23rd at the J - before the deadline of June 16th. It is helping to ensure that we have enough food for the fantastic buffet, and in facility planning.

If you want, you can register online now at https://www.oregonjcc.org/…/arts-culture-events/israelidance.

So, in Blast #1 you were introduced to the event, and in Blast #2 you were introduced to our special guest dance leader Lior Haykeen (see PIFD News). In Blast #3 we have a fun request:

Calling all dancers to submit your favorite dance requests especially for the Classic and Partner Sessions (4:45 to 5:45 pm) and for the Dance Party (7:30 to 11 pm.). Lior, Duane, Debbi, Sue, and Avi are building their various dance mix lists and would love to hear from you!

Here are some sites/sessions/leaders that could help with dance names, or that have great Israeli folk dance info and videos for reference:

Israelidances.com

For the older dances, this page lists all until 1990 with a good search engine for name, Yeminite, wedding, Independence, etc.

http://israelidances.com/Nostalgia-masterlist.html

Leedy Grange dance list (send request to pifnews@gmail.com for pdf.)

Fulton dance list http://portlandisraelidance.com/?page_id=15

Café Shalom dances (ask Allison)

Couples dances (ask Avi)

YouTube (type the name of the dance)

And of course your own dance list of favorites!

We hope all of you can join us to celebrate! Share info with friends and fam. Everyone is invited. Spectators welcome!

Thank you for being a part of the celebration, and for sending us your dance requests. We hope to see you on the 23rd!!

Debbi & Sue, Avi, Duane & Lior

Blast #2 Who is Lior Haykeen?

So, who is Lior Haykeen? She is our guest dance leader at the June 23rd Israel at 70: Celebration Through Dance at the MJCC. See PIFD News for the reg form (due June 16th) and details!

Lior Haykeen, originally from Haifa, Israel, is a talented, energetic and passionate Israeli folk dancer. She is a a co-founder of Rokdim LA, a California dance organization that aims to inspire kids and adults in Los Angeles to love, appreciate and be involved in Israeli dance. http://www.rokdimla.com.

Lior teaches at many Israeli dance workshops and at events throughout the region. Lior says, "I devote much of my time and efforts in the Israeli dance field to cultivate new, young dancers who are excited about the art and culture that the field presents."

She is a past dancer with the Keshet Chiam Dance Ensemble. Outside of the dance world, Lior has recently launched Princie Apparel, an online clothing store.

Register today!

What's for Dinner?

Allen Levin, of Century Catering, runs Cafe at the J. He also catered our 40th Anniversary of Israeli Folk Dancing in Portland back in 2013. This time, on June 23rd at Israel@70: Celebration Through Dance, Music, Food and Camardarie, the scrumptious buffet spread is:

Dinner Buffet - 6:00 pm to 7:30

Hummus

Baba Gahnooj

Pita Bread

Israeli Salad

Green Salad

Chicken Shuwarma

Watermelon

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lemonade, Water

Tea & Coffee

Buffet Registration needed by June 16 so we can have a head-count for Allen.

Online pre-registration is highly recommended at https://www.oregonjcc.org/arts-culture/arts-culture-events/israelidance.

Blast #1 Announcing!!!! Sat. June 23

Israel at 70! – Celebration Through Dance

With L.A. Israeli Folk Dance Leader Lior Haykeen!

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May 2014 - Fellow Israeli folk dancer travels to Sighet,

Romania for 70th anniversary commemoration

Elise, Jeremy, and dancer Debbi Montrose (with event assistant Ioan Popescu)

attended the first ever Commemoration for the Jews of Sighet, this May, who were deported in 1944.

Below is a link to an article about the event.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4523216,00.html

Plans are underway for next year May 2015. If you or someone you know has Jewish roots in Sighet or is interested, please email Peninah Zilberman at peninah118@gmail.com. You can visit the website www.sighet.org. Facebook is Sighet Generations.

_________

2014 Congratulations to Zivit and David!

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The 40th Anniversary Celebration, April 2013