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The vote had already been taken and everyone at the Sunday morning session at Germantown awaited the arrival of Tamar and her precious cargo - the cups that Nina Gordon, potter, was making for our group. As part of the synagogue's "go green" effort, there is an attempt to replace much of the plastic ware with more environmentally friendly pottery. The group even subsidized the purchase for the dancers and so there was a great excitement - at least for one dancer holding a camera - in the cups arrival. You can't say that this web site doesn't cover the entire spectrum of Israeli dance activities in the Philadelphia area - it even extends to the "irrigation" of the dancing bodies on Sunday mornings. Below is some pictures and commentary.
| Well, we see the star of the show. None other than Tamar, administrative leader of the Sunday session. Tamar was instrumental in starting the group around 1997 and has enjoyed the gradual, yet very apparent, increase in popularity the group has attained over the past few years. We think that this was her idea and she has been the go between as far as the dancers are concerned and the potter, Nina Gordon. On this Sunday morning Tamar brought in 15 of the 28 cups that were ordered and we see her even before she has had the chance to take off her coat. But, in short order, the cups were put out for the dancers to select and pay for. |
| Each cup is individually colored so that there should be no mix-ups during the coming sessions as they are being used. In addition, the potter has set the shape for easy handling. We don't know if you can see this, but the cups are basically rectangular except for the rim at the top which is circular. In the cup that the disk coordinator selected, there is even a dimple for added traction when handling. A nice consideration for the summer when sweaty palms need a little more leverage to hold things. |
| We see Ellen, one of the dancers on Sunday morning in addition to Monday and Thursday night - there is no question that Israeli dancing is addicting - determining which of the cups would be hers. In fact, we believe that Ellen was the originator of the suggestion of using a magic marker on the bottom to indicate which cups now belonged to whom. Some people who know pottery have been giving the disk coordinator - who really knows very little about anything - lessons in pottery creation which we will toss back to you here. Each cup starts as a throw of clay. A wheel is used to shape the pottery. Apparently, there are different colors of clays. The potter has the choice of kilns, a word which the disk coordinator happens upon when doing crossword puzzles and is the potter's oven, and depending whether high heat or low heat is used, the pottery is either safe for use in washing machines or not safe for this type of cleaning. It has been assumed that these cups are dishwasher ready. Before finalizing the cup, glazes of silicate are applied and this provides the color when the baking procedures are finished. The disk coordinator intends to look up what he has just sprouted off to you sometime in the future. |
| We see another dancer, Sylvia, as she makes her selection. There were colors enough for most everyone to select and be happy. But, keep in mind, there are an additional 13 cups that will make their appearance on a future Sunday. While there was an attempt to keep these cups within one roof, the administrative procedures for washing these cups after usage would have been too much for the Center and its maintenance procedures. So, we all got to take these cups home - the diskcoordinator is sipping from his as he writes this - and they will make reappearances as we dance on Sunday mornings. It is assumed that the center will continue to provide plastic cups for those who forget to bring their's or for visitors, but the hope is that less plastic will be used in the future. |
| We've already let you in on the secret that the disk coordinator has no knowledge of pottery besides what he can mimic from those that do, but this shot does provide you, the viewer, with something he does have expertise in. Next to the cups, you will see a stack of CDs in their jewel cases and this is the latest of the CDs to be distributed, the Initial I1 disk. As stated in another link, the G series and Other disks, a request was overheard for a CD of easier Israeli dance music which this CD provides. At the time of this distribution at Germantown, some 178 had been distributed and it is expected that the final total of CDs for this title will be close to 200. |
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