Hello and Gainesville Area Israeli Dancers and Friends,

Thurday nights go to B'nai Israel for Israeli Dancing.

Fridays is International Folk Dancing.

Next weekend Dany Benshalom and Ruth Slann will be here for a workshop at Westwood Middle School hosted by Tony Arroyo. This is a great weekend and one of the rare times we get in guest teachers. You get to see people from all over the area, so make time and come out for some fun.

If you would like to include your Gainesville area folk dance events or other items of interest, send them to me.

Zemer Atik from Meshugga Beach Party
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hc4ej4Nie4

Lost Generation palindrome.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

Happy Dancing,
Andy

-----------------------------------------------------------

Schedule:

1. Friday 1/29 - International Folk Dancing

2. Thursday 2/04 - Israeli Dancing

3. Friday 2/05 - International Folk Dancing

4. Sat-Sun 2/6-7 - Israeli Dance Workshop

Article: Avoid Conflict By Minimizing Confrontations

Article: You Never Know Where Your Friends Are Going to Come From

-----------------------------------------------------------

Quotes:

- Avoid conflict by minimizing confrontations.
~ Shlomo Ressler

-----------------------------------------------------------

1. Friday 1/29 - International Folk Dancing

4225 NW 34th St, Gainesville, Florida

8:00 - 9:00 : Beginners instruction
9:00 - 9:30 : Advanced instruction
9:30 - 11:00 : Dancing

$3 per person (to pay the rent of the dance room), $1 students

Dance to a different beat. No partners needed and all ages welcome. Member of the Florida Folk Dance Council. www.folkdance.org

Jack Seltzer, gainesvilleifd@gmail.com, 352-359-2903

-----------------------------------------------------------

2. Thursday 2/4 - Israeli Dancing

B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd

7:00 - 9:30 : Israeli Dancing

Erin, erinhking@yahoo.com

-----------------------------------------------------------

3. Friday 2/5 - International Folk Dancing

4225 NW 34th St, Gainesville, Florida

8:00 - 9:00 : Beginners instruction
9:00 - 9:30 : Advanced instruction
9:30 - 11:00 : Dancing

$3 per person (to pay the rent of the dance room), $1 students

Dance to a different beat. No partners needed and all ages welcome. Member of the Florida Folk Dance Council. www.folkdance.org

Jack Seltzer, gainesvilleifd@gmail.com, 352-359-2903

-----------------------------------------------------------

4. Sat-Sun 2/6-7 - Israeli Dance Workshop

Westwood Middle School Cafeteria, 3215 NW 15th Avenue, Gainesville, FL

February 6 & 7, 2010

Saturday: 6:30 - 10:30 Instruction & Dance Party

Sunday: 9:30 - 17:30 Teaching and dancing
Lunch 1 - 2:30

www.kolsimcha.org, 352-485-1210

6 Annual, Gainesville and UF Spring Israeli Dance Workshop with Dany Benshalom Guest Teacher from Israel and Ruthy Slann.

Tony Arroyo 352-485-1210 or Joseph Simpkins 352-283-0649.

Return this form with your check payable to Kol Simcha postmarked by February 1st, 2010.

ISRAELI DANCE WORKSHOP

_____ I will attend the full workshop - $55 (by Feb. 1st) {Full-time students $45}

_____ I will attend Saturday evening only - $30 (by Feb. 1st) {Sat-only Full-time students $25}

_____ I will attend Sunday only - $40 (by Feb. 1st) {Sun-only Full-time students $35}

All prices will be $5 additional at the door {Note: all prices are only $5 more than in 2008!}

-----------------------------------------------------------

Article: Avoid Conflict By Minimizing Confrontations

Thought you might enjoy a Dvar Torah (words of Torah) once in a while. I liked this one, so here it is.

Weekly Dvar Torah from Shlomo Ressler

Welcome to the concise, relevant Lelamed Weekly Dvar. Enjoy...

Parshat Beshalach includes the famous splitting of the Sea (14:21), where Moshe led them into the water, and the sea split for them. Psalms 114 offers that "the sea saw, and ran", and commentators explain that what the sea saw was Yosef's remains, and withdrew in their merit. As Rabbi Shmulevitz asks, what was so special about Yosef's remains that the sea split because of them, rather than because of Moshe or the Jews?

Rabbi Shmulevitz answers by introducing a fundamental concept in Judaism: avoiding temptations. Yosef was in a position where he might have been tempted to sin (with Potifar), and rather than be placed in a position to overcome his urges, he avoided those urges altogether, even placing himself in danger by leaving an article of clothing behind. This great act is not only an example for us today, but it's also the reason why the Jews were faced with crossing the sea in the first place. Had human logic prevailed, the Jews would have headed straight to Israel, which would have taken them 4 days. However, that might have tempted the Jews to consider returning to Egypt, so G-d had them go the long way, which included crossing the sea. The splitting of the sea and Yosef's life join efforts in conveying a critical lesson: Avoid conflict as much as you can. Whether it's our internal temptations, friends, parents, spouses or those we share borders with, the Parsha offers us 3000 year old advice that we still holds true today: Avoid conflict by minimizing confrontations.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Article: You Never Know Where Your Friends Are Going to Come From

It is 4 am and I finished off a carton of ice cream, so I am writing this article.

When I was young, back in 1993, I went to my first Israeli Dance camp, which was at Blue Star in Ashville, North Carolina and the mother of all Israeli Dance camps, lasting seven days.

I met a women there who was half a generation ahead of me, but seemed a lifetime away. I will call her Esther. She was widowed and had grown children. She was nice enough, but I did not think much about her, as I ran around doing my own thing.

My community started holding a dance camp in the winters in Ft. Lauderdale. Each year Esther came and she always made a point of talking with me and getting in a partner set a night. She made friends with another good friend of mine too. She liked to do the partner sets and she figured she had to line up partners. Not that I felt used.

I saw her around the country a bit at other camps and sessions on some of my travels. In a strange coincidence, it turns out at her regular group she dances with my second cousin-once-removed. Whenever I see her, she tells me my cousin says hello, which is a sweet connection.

We always had a good rapport. With some people you find you always have a good conversation.

For no other reason than our times of life, I never would have thought we would have become friends, but this year at Machol Miami, I found myself hanging out and dancing with her as much as anyone else.

You never know where your friends are going to come from.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Find this newsletter online here

www.gainesvilledance.com/Newsletters/tabid/80/Gainesville_Dance/22/20100129-Israeli-Dancing-Feb-Workshop-Meshugga-Atik-Splitting-of-the-Sea.aspx

-----------------------------------------------------------

Copyright (c) 2006 to present by Bronze Inc. Gainesville, FL

You may forward, print or post any part of this email provided you include this copyright notice. All other rights reserved. Contact us for other uses.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Weitzen, publish@jewishnetwork.com, 352-327-3672, Gainesville, FL