Hallelujah.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
His praises in the congregation of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker;
let the children of Zion exult in their king.
Let them praise His name in dance;
with timbrel and lyre let them chant His praises.
---Psalm 149:1~3
To celebrate the first year of Challah and Cherry Blossoms, I`m excited to present the second Challah and Cherry Blossoms guest interview!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
His praises in the congregation of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker;
let the children of Zion exult in their king.
Let them praise His name in dance;
with timbrel and lyre let them chant His praises.
---Psalm 149:1~3
To celebrate the first year of Challah and Cherry Blossoms, I`m excited to present the second Challah and Cherry Blossoms guest interview!
It`s an honor to introduce Teresa Cook. I `met` Teresa this past spring when I discovered her Rejoice in Dance videos, as I am preparing to teach Israeli Dance in my community in Japan. I was so blessed by her easy to follow teaching and by her joy in Israeli dance. When I wrote her to share my thanks, she shared a vision that she had when she made them, that people would learn these dances around the world! We hope you enjoy the interview, during which you will also have a chance to learn some easy-to-follow Israeli dances!
S: Welcome Teresa, It`s an honor to have you here as a guest on Challah and Cherry Blossoms. When I saw your Rejoice in Dance videos, I became excited. Could you tell us a little about how you came to Israeli dance?
T: Thank you so much, Joanne, for having me here as your guest! In 1999, I began attending a Messianic Congregation where Israeli dancing was a big part of corporate worship. We called it “Davidic dancing” at the time. We had a large area at the back of the sanctuary where we did the circle dances during worship, and anyone could join in. The dance team leader led the dances. Joining in the corporate dancing is where I first started learning the Israeli dances. And I eventually joined the dance team at the congregation. The dance team sometimes did special dances as part of the worship service.
I started teaching these dances in December 2009. My daughter Sarah was planning to get married in June 2010. Her fiancé (Lael) had a grandfather who was Jewish, and Lael’s family still enjoys celebrating the Jewish feasts, incorporating these in with their faith in Jesus. Lael and Sarah were planning a wedding that combined many Christian and Jewish elements, and they wanted to have Israeli folk dancing at their wedding reception. But no one knew the dances except me! So six months before their wedding, I began teaching the Israeli folk dances to a group of about 25 young people who were friends and family of Lael and Sarah. We met once each month for six months before the wedding so that they would know the dances well. At the wedding reception, we had about 75 people dancing! The bride and groom and their friends were in the inner circle, and the rest of the guests were in a larger outer circle (You can see this in the photo above). I was wearing a microphone, and I taught the dances and called out the steps for the guests to learn. And since the group of young folks in the middle knew the dances, the guests could also just follow along and do what the young folks were doing. We even danced one dance with palm branches! I cannot even begin to describe how the dances took the JOY of the celebration to a much higher level than we could have ever imagined. Many guests told us they had never been to a wedding that was so much fun! About a week after my daughter’s wedding, the Lord said to me, “Teresa, you started teaching these dances for your daughter, the bride. Now I want you to teach these dances to MY bride!” And that launched me into teaching these joyful dances on a wider scale.
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| "God `dances for joy over us`(Zephaniah 3:17), and we are made in His image. So I believe He rejoices and joins with us when we are enjoying these dances. " |
Since then, I have led dance workshops at churches and special gatherings. And I even taught these dances to a group of about 60 Chinese students, many of whom had never danced before. And they really enjoyed it!
(photo below). Eventually I decided to put the dance videos on YouTube so that the people who had been to my workshops could review the dances and continue doing them. But I never imagined that my YouTube channel would get the number of views that it has! One of my dreams has been to teach the world to dance. So I was especially excited when I learned that you want to teach these joyful dances in Japan!
S: What a joyous celebration! I love how you talked about the Jewish people`s understanding of G-d`s heart for family and community in your A Brief History of Dance in Israel video. Could you share a little about that ---for example, what is so special about these dances, and how we can learn from that and use them in our congregations, community, and families?
T: I believe God has always existed as a family—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that family is the foundational unit of the Kingdom of God. And family is made up of people of all different ages. What I LOVE about these dances is that they are so beautifully suited for people of all ages and physical abilities to dance TOGETHER. The steps are easy enough for an 8-year-old to learn and fun enough for adults to do. And each person can adjust the steps to be more or less aerobic and active depending on their own physical abilities. I have had dance circles where the ages ranged from 8 to 70+. Even children younger than 8 years old can join in the circle if a parent helps make sure that the child keeps going in the right direction. The young people that you see dancing in my videos are some of the ones that I taught in preparation for my daughter’s wedding. One mother of several of these young people actually thanked me for giving her children a wholesome way to dance and enjoy movement with music. Now her children do these dances at home just for fun! These dances are a great alternative to secular, sensual dancing. Another thing I love about these dances is that everyone can join in. You aren’t left out if you don’t have a partner. Everyone is included! I have been in numerous different gatherings where we all joined in these dances—church services, weddings, feast celebrations, birthday parties, conferences, picnics, etc.—and doing these dances always takes the level of JOY and sense of community and unity to a much higher level!
S: I am encouraged and inspired by hearing your story!
Could you tell us your favorite dances or dance and one that you would like to `teach` to us? I am having so much fun learning them, and would like to share the links of your instructional videos for all of us to try in our various locations around the world.
T: The dance that is one of the most popular (because it is so easy to learn) and seems to be a favorite wherever I go is Nigun Atik. This is the traditional dance that is used at Jewish weddings, where the bride and groom are lifted up on chairs and the guests dance around them. I like to start out teaching this dance because it gives beginners an easy dance to learn and shows them the JOY of the dances. Once most people learn this dance, they are hooked and want to learn more! And this dance gives them the confidence to see that they CAN learn these dances.
One of my personal favorites is Lo Ahavti Dai. Part 1 of this dance can be used as a separate dance itself and is very fun and easy to do. And I especially love the energy and variety of Part 2. This dance is always a favorite with young folks. And they often take the energy to an even higher level by doing “flying mayims” in Part 1 (where you jump up high on the mayim step). We also like to add a shout when we all move into the center in Part 2. The shout just spontaneously happened one time while we were dancing, and it so fit the song and the music that we continued doing it!
S: Those flying mayims sound fun! Thank you so much Teresa! I’m happy for this chance to meet you through Challah and Cherry Blossoms! May we all dance them together in unity in Israel one day!
ADONAI your God is in your midst---
a mighty Saviour!
He will delight over you with joy.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will dance for joy over you with singing.
---Zephanaiah 3:17 TLV
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Note to readers: Links to Teresa teaching these dances are here:
To know more or visit Teresa’s YouTUBE channel, please visit her
at:
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Ascribe to ADONAI the glory of His Name.
Bring an offering and come into His courts.
Bow down to ADONAI in holy splendor.
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
---Psalm 96:8~9 TLV
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*Photos courtesy of Teresa, Rejoice in Dance
interview abbreviations: S=Shayndel T=Teresa
Blessings and Shalom!
♡
