Dalia first brought together Israeli folk dancers during the Jewish festival of Shavuot in A reported 10, people traveled to Kibbutz Dalia to celebrate the wheat harvest with traditional and new Israeli folk dances and displays of other ethnic dances from around the world. The evening of songs and dances reflected the breadth and depth of Israeli cultural, artistic and social contributions to the nation.
Accompanied by the Ashdod Andalusian Orchestra, Gaon introduced dances and songs showcasing Israeli culture. For the most part this shifting company of dancers in the folk dance tradition bobbed and weaved in circles and lines, hopping, skipping and leaping to up-tempo horas.
The ladies smiled broadly in their swingy A-lined dresses, the men clad in colorful tunics. Folk dance in Israel was and for the most part remains, a communal activity that promote group unity even amid the diversity of dances that choreographers churn out year after year β horas, partnered waltzes, debkas, line dances, salsa-tinged Israeli dances and more.
The closing program again featured these spirited amateur dancers, this time displaying a greater variety of dance styles. The headliner for night two at Karmiel was a stunner for many reasons. But the Cossack National Dance Troupe from Russia indeed came to Israel and, by measure of the audience reaction, was a terrific hit. Though unable to understand what the close harmony choir sang about, in a nation that has absorbed more than a million Russian immigrants in a generation, these Russian songs were beloved, and many of them sound suspiciously Israeli for Israelis are also great copycats, particularly in borrowing shamelessly from foreign genres and even specific songs.
The dancing, including spectacular sword battles where actual sparks flew, soaring leaps and sequences of barrel turns, aerial cartwheels, and that knee pumping katzastky step, draws from Russian folkloric traditions.
