To celebrate their wedding, Darcy and Mike decided to hold a dance celebration on June 10th,2012 at the Westfield Friends school on Riverton road in Cinnaminson. Everyone in the local Israeli dance community was invited. Since Darcy is also a licensed Zumba instructor, it is possible that some from that arena of dance also participated. And, of course, to celebrate the marriage, all the relatives and friends were invited.
To host the party, Darcy hired Don Schillinger. Those familiar with this web site know that Don runs the Thursday and Sunday night Israeli dance sessions. But, in addition, Don also runs an active DJ company that specializes in affairs such as this. Don couldn't make it for the beginning of the event, so he sent one of his assistants, Aley, to start the affair. We can tell you that Aley has been busy this summer as he was the star of another event we were priviledged to cover which should appear as a script on this web site shortly. But for this affair, On June 10th, Aley got the event rolling by leading the early arrivals in some old time favorite Israeli circle dances and some line dances as the picture to the ddd show
Israeli dance events are known for their late starts and this proved to be no exception. To the ddd, we see the early arrivals partake of the dancing. The event was supposed to start at 7PM but most arrived after 7:30PM. These shots were taken within the 7 to 7:30 period
Our pictures on this web site come from several cameras and several sources. The only one we can identify for sure is Rebecca Salzman Baum and it is her pictures that are to the ddd. Obviously others cantributed their pictures to this web site and we thank everyone who did. These pictures are taken at the beginning of the evening.
From another camera and possibly camera angle we see the evening activities at an early stage. Aley is a specialist in line dancing and did show some line dances during this time but we're sure the bulk of the participants were looking forward to circle and partner dances. Aley did some of the older Israeli circle dances and there was at least one partner set early on. Our last picture shows some of the crowd also partaking in something they also enjoy: food
Weddings are the day of the bride and, although more informal than most, this wedding celebration was no exception. To the ddd we have some pictures of Darcy during the evening. While playing host of any dancing event shortens the time that one can dance and participate, these pictures show Darcy as she is dancing or on the dance floor
We shouldn't forget the groom either as these pictures indicate. Mike is somewhat new to israeli dancing - in essence participating in this genre since he met Darcy. But, no one is more enthusuastic and Mike has become a regular of at least one dance session: the Cherry Hill session of Tuesday nights.
Of course, the highlight of any wedding is the couples first dance and these pictures are of that occasion.
One of the highlights of a Jewish wedding (and perhaps others) is when the bride and groom are hoisted on chairs and lifeted up and paraded around the dance floor. You can see from these pictures that this tradition was continued at this event.
While all this occurs, there is a change of DJ. Don has arrived and he takes over the reins of the dance selections. By this time, also, most of the guests have arrived. Don's forte is looking around an audience and determining the type and difficulty of the dance selections. Propably by this point Don is opting for more advanced Israeli dances. To the ddd we show a few shots Don and Aley including one of Don dancing with Darcy.
This web site keeps track of Israeli dance events in the Philadelphia area. So, we have some feel for the personalities involved. The next few montages emphasize this. The dancer who had the furthest to travel is pictured here. Aaron Rosenberg, who has known Darcy since 1978, has been the object of several scripts on this site so those familiar with this site and/or Israeli dancing should be quite familiar with him. Several years previous he was a resident of this area but now calls Florida home and it was from there that he ventured to this wedding.
Another dancer who should be mentioned (as she is pictured to the ddd) is Osnat Reichert. Ossie has been for many years a trainer and life sciences coach in addition to her passion for Israeli dancing. She recently become a contributor to this web site with her input to the 'Exercise, Nutrition and the Older Israeli Dancer' script recently placed on this web site.
And what Israeli dance event would be complete without Ofra and Marek Milbar who are omnipresent at all Isreali dancing events in the Philadelphia area. Here we see pictures of them dancing separately and during a couples set
And this is the perfect place to pay homage to Darcy's great friend, Rebecca. You are already aware that many of these shots were taken by her during the festivities but you are probably not aware that Rebecca was present the first time Darcy met Mike and helped shepherd along this relationship.
In addition, because Mike has become a regular at the session, many of the Cherry Hill session regulars also attended this event. Not pictured, but also attending, was the leader of the session, Naomi. A script that is being prepared at the moment for this web site features this Cherry Hill session very prominebtly as they played gracious host to a group of Pennsylvania dancers who recently visited during one of their Tuesday night dance sessions. We might add the Darcy and Mike made it to this event as they returned from their honeymoon.
Finally, we include some pictures of the bride and groom's children who attended, danced and participated in the festivities.
Now, let's return back to the dancing. With Don's arrival the party really get's going. Israeli dance in made up of three elements: lines, circles and partners danced to the appropriate dance music. For most sessions. only a part of these types is played. It is not unusual to have a session devoted only to circles, or one that combines circles and lines. Or, more advanced sessions might deal with circles and partners. But, for this affair, Don presented all the compoents of Israeli dance. To the ddd are pictures of Don leading several line dances. Notice how the dancers are arrayed in a checkerboard pattern and this is very consistent with Israeli line dances.
Let's concentrate on one of the line dances, Turkish kiss. This is a very popular line dance. Its music origins are indeed Turkish. Our first picture of this montage focuses on three of the most attractive of the dancers that night, Ofra, Ossie and Sofia, and you can track them through this dance abetted by Sharon Polsky (in blue and white), Amy (in blue and black) and Don.
Besides the line dancing, a steady stream of circle dancing was available to the participants. Hopefully you are not surprised to learn the the participants make a circle and dance either clockwise or counterclockwise to music when participating in circle dancing. It seemed as if Don played the musical favorites of older Israeli dancers as the pictures to the ddd could easily have been taken at Sharon Polsky's oldies marathons. You can see the aforementioned Sharon Polsky in blue top and white shorts, the aforementioned and pictured Aaron Rosenberg, Kim in green dress who has recently come back to Israeli dance after a hiatus and Susan in the green top, who is another long time Israeli dancer. If it looks like this crowd is enjoying themselves, it is not an illusion as present aand former Israeli dancers love to dance and Don specializes in creating a mix of music where everyone is comfortable. We're sure that was Darcy and Mike's thinking when they engaged Don to do this event.
And our final montage is of partner dancing. Since there is generally more women than men, it is not uncommon to find two women dancing partners together and, possibly for this reason, some men only dance partners waiting out any of the circle and line dancing that occurs. The sets are numbered and many participants - assuming they do not have a permanent and steady dance partner - dance with a different partner for each set. One partner set was begun with the wedding couple in the center and you have seen this above. This montage apparently captures a later partner set during the evening.