We keep getting pictures from the annual Taste Of the Suburbs event which apparently has a lot of attendance by regional Israeli dancers. Below are some pictures from this annual event this year taking place on April 15, 2018. For this year we have taken several of the pictures received from this recent event and listed them by threes right below so that we can designate them as (left to right) 1,2,3 for the first row, 4,5,6 for the second. Now, some of us on this website have looked at each of these shots and tried to determine the Israeli dancers shown in each. See if you can spot what we think we're seeing and, if you're good enough at this, you are welcome to use the email account diskcrd@thediskcoordinator.com to tell us what we've missed. ? indicates we're not sure and B indicates back to the shot.
1. From left to right: Rich Janis, Marc Rauer?, David Friedman
2. Left to right: Jody (facing right), Sean (middle), Roz (b red hair) (both Sean and Roz have tried dancing at Germantown), (left of Roz) David Friedman
3. Left to right: Marc Rauer, Lee Friedman, David Friedman, Deborah,Jody Goldsborough (left of Jody is Jody's friend Evelyn)
4. far left: Rich Janis and Deborah, middle: Marc Rauer
5.From Left: Sean (tried Israeli dancing at Germantown), LaShonda (She and Sean have been at the Israeli dance demo at the Arden Fair in recent years), Les Grunes (who dances at Vera's and sporatically at Beth Sholom and Germantown), Cyndi (who has tried Israeli dancing at Germantown).
6. David(left) and Wendy Friedman
Below are more pictures from the festivities that Saturday. FYI: This is a charitable event sponsored by the Rotary chapter of King Of Prussia that takes place annually early in April. The King Of Prussia Mall donates the use of several of its halls for the event. And, as to enjoying the night, we'll quote Wendy: "Our group reunites to experience, once again, an amazing evening of tastes and flavors from around the world."
For the second year in a row an Emial from Grant announced an end of the dance year (mid June) party for the Germantown dancers.
One of the dancers, Deb, lives close to the Germantown Jewish Centre facility and she, and her husband Dan, open their patio to the hungry dancers after the next to last Sunday morning session of the dance year. For Germantown the dance year ended on June 18 in '17. Therefore, the party was sxheduled for June 11th.
Many dancers have events that they are scheduled for on Sunday afternoons in June so the attendance at Deb's house is not 100% but it seems from the pictures below that at least 18 were able to attend.
At that time there was a lot going on in the world to discuss and at least with a bagel, other goodies,ice tea in your hand and sitting in magnificent weather, the solutions of the world did seem possible at least for that afternoon. Below we have additional pictures from this event and even a group picture to show.
Let's give credit where it's due: On the upper row:Yona, Grant, Sylvia, Dave, Tamar, Elana, Della, Deb (our gracious host), Estelle, Susanna. Bottom Row: Phyliss,Gary, Deborah, Wendy, Sharon, Gwynne and Yael
One of our editors had been invited to the 2017 Taste Of The Suburbs event at the King Of Prussia Mall on Sunday night, April 2, 2017. He was snapping some pictures to give to the King Of Prussia Rotary chapter - they were the sponsers of the event - and happened upon a table whose participants looked very familiar to him. While not everyone was a dancer, different dance genres were represented. We've taken that picture, indicated below, and put some numbers to the participants. 1 indicates Lee Friedman who is a well known Israeli and International dancer and is the subject of a recent script on this website accessible at clicking here. 2 indicates Wendy and David Friedman who have appeared multiple times in scripts on this web site. Any Italian found in these scripts are translations by Wendy. 3 is Chris Laughlin who for many years headed a Country and Western group that appeared all around the Philadelphia area. 4 is Marguarite and Robert who participate in Rueda and Salsa with Maestro Flaco's dance group. Our photographer was also able to snap pictures of Cindy Hornyak at the event (not shown here) who participates in Tango classes.
We're not surprised that dancers participate in these events. Dancers are always having to learn new routines and new steps and, even as they get older, this allows them to want to experience new things. In our case, our photographer caught them experiencing the 2017 Taste Of The Suburbs.
These pictures were taken sometime during October' 2016 at the home of Julie and Levi located in Havertown. Several members of the Philadelphia Israeli dance community were invited to a late lunch (perhaps early dinner) by the hosts, Levi and Julie. During this lunch, which featured middle eastern food, the following pictures were taken by and of the participants. From left to right we see Avraham and Kim Neubauer, the gracious hosts Julie and Levi, and leftmost Lee Friedman. Julie is said to be an excellent cook whose soups are renowned through the Philadelphia International dance community of which Julie and Levi are members and we are told that a special soup, consistent with the middle eastern theme of the lunch, was served during that afternoon.
Normally we would see Lee, Kim and Avraham struting their stuff at one of the local Israeli dance sessions. So, as not to disappoint our reader(s), below is some pictures of the three at a recent (Nov'16) session of Germantown.
Last year we obtained some pictures of this event which highlights the restaurants in the King Of Prussia area and generally takes place in early April. This year we specifically sent someone to take photographs of dancers both Israeli and other. Below are some pictures of the crowd this night - it is estimated that some 500 or more were present - and the two rows have several photos that show dancers of various types. You might be able to discern Jody, Lee, Wendy and David of Israeli dance. One of the pictures also is a portrait of Cyndi who has been taking lessons in Argintinian tango and another woman who is interested in Salsa. Another picture is of Rhonda and her family and you may remember Rhonda as the coordinator of the JEVS Israeli dance in the Northeast several years ago that we covered. The last picture shown, taken at the end of the event - in fact these were the last guests to leave - have Wendy, David, Lee in the midst with Marc who was also at the event.
The Ian Fleming birthday celebrations? Really? Well, those who have attended the circa May 28th Thursday night Israeli dance sessions for the last 8 years have been celebrating the Ian Fleming Centennial (This year would be the Fleming Centennial +7) celebrations although they may not have realized it. This year it kind of leaked out that the ice cream and fixings was for this purpose. As we understand it, this is the handiwork of our historical editor who seems to have an interest in this author and the character he created. We tried to get some pictures of the event but it really didn't work out well so we'll also provide some pictures of the international Fleming celebrations around the world (although mainly in England). Below you will see the announcement on May 28th, 2015 of a new James Bond book with original material from Fleming written in 1957. Next to it are two pictures from the celebration that evening on that day at Adath Israel. Unfortunately, these were the only two pictures to come out of the several taken. On the second row is several other pictures taken at various times during the previous few years celebrating Fleming's birthday, especially his centennial, in England. These include a set of stamps issued by the British post office to celebrate Fleming's centennial in 2008 and several pictures from the Imperial War Museum's Fleming centennial celebration, which occurred in 2008 and 2009, titled "For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond".
Note: Fleming's name came up several years ago in a visit to England by a couple who Israeli dance. You can see a write-up on this clicking here.
Our photographer was covering the Taste Of The Suburbs for another web site when he started to run into familiar faces. The pictures below are the result. If you are not aware, the King Of Prussia Rotary club runs this event as a fund raiser. Many restaurants in the area present their best dishes to the crowd each of whom have paid $40 and up to attend the event. These pictures show Israeli dance regulars: Lee Friedman, Jody Goldsborough and Ami Shapiro. But, if you look at our exposure section, you will also see Sean Davis and LaVera Seymour who have attended Israeli dance sessions/events in the past
Ami Shapiro throws at least one party at his house in Gladwynne each year. He invites several of the Israeli dancers who intermingle with other of his friends and acquaintances. Below, we have eight pictures from Feb 1, 2015 at Ami's house. This was a super bowl party. As in all Superbowl party's, groups got split between those interested in the game, those interested in the food and those interested in conversation. Our photographer(s) took pictures in several rooms. Several of these pictures feature Israeli dancers whose images have been on this web site. Can you name them below?
(1)Shirley, Lee Friedman,Devorah, unknown, Fern. Lee is a frequent subject of this website whose first appearance on this website was at the Toronto 2011 dance festival
(2)Jody Goldborough is added to the picture from above. Jody has also been a frequesnt quest on this web site. Her latest appearance on this web site is the second subject of our day script
(3)Unknown, Lee, Devorah, Jody, Warren
(4)A pan of the kitchen which was the center of the activity at Ami's home. Elana and Ellen are a part of this
(5)Unknown, Elana,Ellen,Lana
(6)Picture 2 with Menachem. Menachem has been on this web site before. His earliest appearance was on the Machol Yam 2012 cruise
(7)Richard
(8)As the game winds down many of the dancers congregate in the kitchen as seen in this picture.
Notice that there are no pictures of the host, Ami. Not to worry! Move down a bit on this script and you can see Ami in action.
Several Philadelphia area dancers made their way to the Toronto Is Real Israel Dance festival, 2011 that occurred between the Canadian July 1st Canada Day holiday and the United States July 4th holiday. On a whim, one of the dancers decided to check the Phillies schedule and was surprised to learn that the Phillies were playing a 3 game series in Toronto that weekend starting Friday, July 1st through Sunday, July 3rd. The Friday game was scheduled to start at 1:07PM and the dance festival wasn't until that evening. So, a great plan was hatched so we have been told: Get Phillies tickets for the July 1st afternoon game for four Philadelphia based dancers, Sharon Polsky, Lee Friedman, Andrea Wallach and Mark Rauer (or is it Marc Rauer). Dressed in their Phillies best (except for one), below are pictures of the afternoon festivities as taken with Sharon Polsky's camera although all participated in the snapping of pictures.
The first two tiers of pictures below show the festivities outside of the Rogers Center where the Blue Jays play their games. The Blue Jays were one of two Canadian teams added to Major League baseball in the 70's. There is only one remaining now as the Montreal Expos have relocated to Washington as the Washington Nationals. The Toronto team has always been a part of the American League's eastern division since their inception and since 1989 have played in the Sky Dome, the first stadium to feature a retractable dome in case of bad weather. The Skydome is a multipurpose stadium similar to Philadelphia's old Veteran stadium and the surface is astroturf and not grass. The Rogers cable complany, similar to the Philadelphia area's Comcast, purchased the team in the 90's and later changed the name of the SkyDome to the Rogers Centre, where we find our four intrepid dancers around 12:30 Friday afternoon.
The Blue Jays are not the first team ever in baseball to sport this name. But, they are the only Canadian baseball team to win a world series and Philadelphia fans are especially aware of this since they beat the Phillies in the 1993 Word Series. It is this World Series connection that makes them one of the AL teams that regularly show up on the Phillies schedule every year for interleague ball. Since the game was at the Blue Jays stadium, the designated hitter would be a part of the game.
A sellout crowd was expected with quite a few Phillies fans in attendance. Outside the Rogers center, a circus atmosphere was evident as you can see below. Included in these pictures just below is a mime, painted in silver, and a woman (of which there were several) moving along on stilts.
Besides snapping photos of the crowds, our dancers turned the camera onto themselves and below you see our intrepid quartet outside, in their seats (from Left to right is Lee, Andrea and Mark) and an additional picture of Sharon inside the stadium.
The fact that it was Canada Day was not overlooked by any means by the club or the stadium. Below, you will see that the Canadian Armed Forces played a significant role in the pre-game ceremonies. Part of this was a political fact: The Canadian government was in the process of withdrawing all of its forces from Afghanistan and those units who had served there were prominently represented in the ceremonies. In addition, sections of the stadium seating was reserved for members of the military and these service members were very liberal in the starting of many of the waves circling around the stadium. Below, as stated, are some shots of the pre game ceremonies including the unfurling of a large Canadian flag (the red maple) and the flags of the various provinces and territories.
When Rogers communication took over control of the stadium, one of the first changes was the installation of fanavision, similar to the big screen at Citizens Bank and other parks. The pre-game festivities were displayed on the screen for all to see as indicated below.
While our festivities are going along, the stadium is filling up. From the vantage point of our dancers' seats, we show in the next two rows the fans (we understand this was a sellout), shots of the Phillies bench and bullpen and the rising of the audience for both the American and Canadian national anthems both performed by a tenor who was an active member of the Canadian Armed forces. We are told that this was a moving experience for both the Phillies and BlueJays fans. We also catch a fan's eye view within a wave.
The next tier of pictures shows some pictures of the game in operation. You will see the Blue Jays mascot, not surprisingly represented as a large Blue Jay, and a pan and zoom shot of Chico Ruiz at bat. Of special importance is the VIP who threw out the first pitch of the game. This was a wounded Canadian Armed Forces member left a pariplegic by the fighting in Afghanistan. His opening pich was saluted by the entire stadium.
No doubt there will be several of you who are saying to themselves, "that's not the Blue Jays uniforms." For Canada Day, the Blue Jays are decked out in the Canadian colors of Red and White and you may be able to make out in the shots below that each Blue Jays player had the name of Canada on the back. The Phillies were wearing their normal away uniforms. By the way, we should give you some particulars of the game. For the Phillies, Kyle Kendrick started the game, hit 2 batters and gave up enough runs to be lifted by the sixth. The Phillies trailed for the most part but did secure a lead for about half an inning. By the bottom of the eighth, the Blue Jays were ahead 6 to 5 and it did look like a loss for our team. Before we divulge the outcome, however, you can see below some pictures taken during the game. Included in these pictures is what is billed as the World's fastest groundkeepers who put on a show in the 5th inning to what this writer recognizes as the Lone Ranger theme song and what classical music fans know as the Rossini's William Tell Overture.
Our intrepid quartet of dancers left at the bottom of the eighth inning somewhat confident, but unhappy, in a Phillies loss. The pictures below show the stadium area and our group as they leave the area. The rightmost picture was a whimsical message found on a billboard adjacent to the Trolley stop on Spadina Blvd used by the group to head uptown. Unbeknownst to them at that time, however, is that the Phils rallied in the top of the ninth and the 2 runs scored were enough to secure a 7 to 6 victory. This would make the season standing 51-31, the best record in baseball. Although this would be a boost to the group when they became aware of the result later in the day, it would have been a successful day no matter the result. The group relates that they were honored to be included in the contingent of Phillies fans in attendance that day.
You can click here to see what every Israeli dance site should have: a short writeup on the Phillies first 100 years of history.
You may be aware that there is an ongoing attempt to document the history of Israeli dancing in Philadelphia on this web site. One name we kept running into was that of Rob Malerman. We have learned that Rob created and ran Cafe Israel on Sunday nights at the Klein JCC. One of his duties was teaching Israeli dance to the attendees.
Rob would be the first to admit that there was a split sometime during late 1999 as far as that class was concerned and Rob Markowitz reconstituted the class at Klein in 2000. The split was profound enough that Rob stopped dancing for 10 years, returning late in 2010. Since that time he has particpated in several of the classes that this web site covers within the Philadelphia region. Recently, he volunteered to teach a dance at Germantown's Sunday morning session on June 12th, 2011. In this, he joins many others - Ellen Weber, Sharon Polsky, Don Schillinger, Jani Rosen, Elana Benamy - and this is one of the strengths of Germantown and specifically, Grant Shulman, where this diversity of instruction is welcomed and encouraged.
On June 12th, Rob taught an older Israeli dance, Harechov Hagadol, with verve and enthusiasm. Everyone remarked about the energy that he put into his instruction. This web site was lucky to have been there taking still pictures and videos of the session for a proposed script. One of the videos was of Rob teaching this dance, stills of which we present below.
In no way can this represent the power of the video by these stills. But, you can load the video (this is straight load and not streaming so it may take a while) by clicking here. Below are 24 consecutive stills from the video. We hope that you get a feel for the effects and efforts of his teaching
John Hopkins, who declares himself a fan of this web site, www.thediskcoordinator.com, many years ago wrote an article for a condo newspaper explaining how to live on 25 cents a day in the suburbs. The gist of this idea was to attend business meetings and demos and partake of the food. The disk coordinator has in some way duplicated this effort by attending lectures through the years that do not pertain to his occupation (assuming he could ever decide on an occupation) generally for the food. In this vein, he has been attending Ophthalmalogy seminars at the Eye Institute of Philadelphia given by Dr Amiron Shapiro both for the interesting discussions and for the breakfast generally catered by Panera's. Recently, the lectures began again and the disk coordinator, in his disguise of suit and tie to hide his true identity, took part and recorded the seminar given by Ami to several doctoral candidates in Optometry and one continual trainee in Israeli dancing. Below are some pictures of this lecture
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| Here's the breakfast items from Panera. There is no doubt that their baked goods are terrific, as is the coffee - a great way to start the day and a lecture | A picture of the lecturn and the projector screen. For those not familiar, most schools provide PC's with connections to projectors and sound equipment. It makes for a type of 3-D lecture with little need to use the blackboard, although as you see it is available | The disk coordinator is not the only one to partake. Two early attendees intend to take Ami's lecture with full stomachs | Dr Amiron Shapiro as he starts his lecture. Ami was not the ony one in suit and tie and this explains his surprised look. |
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| That day's lecture pertained to eyelid lesions, both benign and cancerous. For the student optomitrists in attendance, this is a seminar to explain to them what to look for when examining patients. As optomitrists, they are not being trained for surgery which can only be done by ophthalmologists. | Ami presents these students with lectures intersperced with slides. In the background you can see a slide pertaining to the four layers of both the upper and lower eyelid. The eyelids are among the thinnest of skin membranes in the body and they are made up of 4 layers: derma, Sebaceous glands and the oculi muscle, the tarsus and the conjunctiva. While the dermal layer was of importance for this lecture on tumors and lesions, the tarsal layer will be the basis of a future lecture on drooped eyelids. | As with any lecture, there are questions. But it's not only the optomitrists to be that are asking these. One question cames from the disk coordinator. It doesn't matter whether it's programming concepts, dance steps or ophthalmology, asking questions is what the disk coordinator does best. And Ami handles all of the questions with ease and confidence | At the end of the lecture, the students give a round of applause and an appreciative look. Whether this will continue in future lectures, we'll just have to see. These lectures go from 7:30 to 8:30 in the morning and end at that time for the students to begin seeing patients who are already lined up in the Foyer of the building awaiting eye care |
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| We see Ami telling the students the time and subject of the next lecture. These lectures take place on Thursday mornings at the Eye Institute, Broad and Godfrey. Want to come? | While not the slides that Ami presented at the lecture, this and the next slide show two eyelid tumors as found on the web. We all are responsible for our well being, and inspection and early treatment of these lesions is imperative | These lectures take place at the Eye institute generally the first Thursday of the month. This is only a small part of Ami's professional duties as he is a Ophthalmology professor at Hahnemann Hospital which is a part of Drexel University college of medicine. The picture above shows him in that capacity. We also know that he gives lectures about Ophthalmology procedures around the world and recently was a guest speaker at a medical seminar in China. These students at the eye institute may not know it, but they are learning state of the art procedures. | |
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Some time later, we see Ami again, his time partaking of his interest in Israeli dancing. Ami is a regular at several sessions and, while relatively new to this type of dancing, he shows himself at various times to be quite adept in both the memorization and performance of these dances. Don's Thursday class especially is populated with many in the medical establishment in Philadelphia. There are emergency room doctors, radiologists, psychologists and GPs in attendance. Of course, we now have proof that at least one Ophthalmologist also attends.
The disk coordinator has a theory as to why Israeli dance events are populated by many educators and medical personnel. This is not the easiest of dancing and requires both mental and physical stamina and acumen. It is a fun way of continually exercising the body but especially the mind. It requires someone who is comfortable in continual learning since each new dance brings a new sequence of dance steps. Generally these professions, medical and education, encourage and enhance this type of mental activity. We thank Ami for letting us attend this and other lectures and for letting us document it for you.
| Don returned, after a 4 month hiatus, to Beth Sholom for his Monday class. A lot of Israeli dancers living on the Old York Road corridor looked forward to his return and the disk coordinator, hiding as usual in the shadows, thought that he would document this event. Continual limitation of his photographic eye and his inability to control his new flash produced pictures that were much darker than he expected, but given these limitations, here's a pictoral record of Don's return on October 5th to his Monday class. To the left is the welcome sight of Don's equipment. We've shown some of this in the setup page of this web site and you can see that Don was already prepped for action by time the disk coordinator arrived | The collection table at the entrance to the Fischman Memorial Auditorium at Beth Sholom, where Don, and Sharon Polsky on Tuesday evening, hold classes. Don usually utilizes students to collect money and many of these students bring homework and their own computers to occupy themselves while everyone else is a-dance. One of the student's Mom is posing to the right of the table. We imagine that it is somewhat difficult to get these gatekeeping students to remain in place during a session as any teenager would want to join the fun and dance, but apparently those selected, pictured here, were able to temper their enthusism | Beginners, and that unfortunately includes the disk coordinator as his dancing shows, tend to be the first to show up at classes. Possibly even before a class has started. Perhaps they do this to get some tips from Don (and the other Israeli dance instructors) as to what to expect when the class begins. Here's one woman who was a beginner at the time, Rita, who has arrived very early. We'll see Rita in other pictures as she participates in Don's return. For beginners and others, the hiatus was long but Don made it worthwhile by reestablishing his class and made it a fun evening for all. He returns next week, Oct 12th and every Monday thereafter and all is back to normal on the Old York Road corridor | A picture of Don as he teaches his first dance of the evening. Generally, Don uses this class as a prep for the teaching at his Thursday class but this week it was reversed. Except for one dance, 'winds of war', he taught several of the dances that he had taught the previous Thursday. This Beth Sholom class has morphed in the year and a half since it began into a strenuous beginner/intermediate class as many of these dancers have greatly improved their technique since the start of the class in Jan'08. Just the selection of dances taught by Don on this Monday indicates how far this class has evolved since it started | We have snuck up behind Don while he is teaching. Like all instructors, Don has an affinity for his students and generally teaches to their abilities. In the past, he has generally shown 3 to 4 dances during a session at Beth Sholom and this week was no exception. This continual learning process makes it difficult for beginners as there is a tremendous learning curve to navigate when one starts to learn Israeli dance. But, for those students who become regular dancers, there will be a future encompassing plenty of enjoyment of the dance steps themselves and the music. |
| Here's another picture of Don as he is about to show a dance. The disk coordinator had some fun popping in and out of the shadows to take these pictures. Do you think the continual bursts of flash tipped Don off as to what was taking place behind his back? One of the dances Don taught, Ode ode, has become an instant favorite of the disk coorinator based on its music and intriguing steps. All these elements, music, tempo and steps, make a session of Israeli dance a fun way to exercise | This Monday class is notable for the number of teens and tweens that attend who are quite good and provide the class with great amounts of energy. As opposed to his Thursday class, Don does not emphasize partner dancing in this session and further plays to this younger crowd by having several line dance segments. It is at that time that these younger dancers take to the floor as you will see in the next few shots. | As indicated previousy, there usually is 3 to 4 sets of line dances on most Mondays. These sets are dominated by younger dancers. Most Israeli dance sessions do not include lines as these sessions cater to an older crowd interested in circles and partners. But at Beth Sholom on Mondays, Lines have their place and during a Monday session perhaps 10 to 15 line dances are featured. While most older dancers move to the sideline, this photo shows the younger set being joined by several fearless older dancers | The line dancers are moving the other way. Israeli dances, being highly choreographed, provide for much movement as they are danced. Circles generally go in four directions: clockwise with the circle, counterclockwise, into the circle and out. Line dances on the other hand generally create a box shifting 90 degrees for each iteration of the dance although there are those lines that shift 180 degrees. | This shot shows another line dance in operation. Here, we also see Marek Milbar - the big guy in the center - participating. Marek, and his wife, Ofrah, are everywhere. They have been Israeli dancing for about 3 years and have become a presence in the Isreali dancing community of Philadephia. And, they have made their impression on this web site as Marek has provided translation services for the disk coordinator whose inability to cope with languages such as his native English is legenday. All the dancers, whether new or experienced, helped make it an interesting night at Beth Sholom |
| And, speaking of experienced dancers, it was nice seeing Sherry Holt on Monday night - here she is talking with Elana Benamy. Sherry has been dancing with Don since his class at Temple Sinai in 2001-2003. She is coming back from a shoulder injury and with rehab over, is attempting to return to this form of exercise. Like any other exercise regimen, Israeli dance can cause physical injury as it involves vigorous dance movements. Whatever the risks, some use it as an exercise routine while others dance it for the beauty. But, whatever, it was nice to see Sherry make it on the floor this night | Many of dancers would not give permission to put their photos on this web site including Steve Margolis. He did allow permission to display his bag which you are now seeing. Steve is a regular at most of the Israeli dance venues including Don's Thursday and Rob's Sunday classes. He sometimes attends Germantown and Sharon Polsky's classes. But this is not all: Steve is an accomplished folk dancer and regularly leads the Princeton Folk Dancers on Friday night (in Princeton, where else) and is an accomplished musician performing with the Buxmont Orchestra. This is in addition to his occupation and practice as a medical doctor. Maybe one day he will allow this site to substitiute his real photo here. |
What happens if your ability to Israeli Dance (or other forms of dances) is seriously curtailed whether through illness, circumstance or possibly relocation. Our next personality faced this challenge. We are talking about Sybil Terres Gilmar who apparently likes to live a 30 hiour day in persuit of her interests which are quite a few to say the least. Her passion for her interest in Israeli dance would have been obvious to those who danced with her (and were taught by her in certain circumstances) at the Wednesday night sessions at the Gershman Y and the Sunday night sessions of Cafe Israel. While Israeli dancing, she was part of the Cafe Israeli dance group that performed at various locales during the late 80's and 90's. However, in 1994 she relocated to Costa Rico and could not find an Israeli dance session close to her. When she returned to this area, her interests had changed as they do over time for everyone and she became intrigued with sculling. Presently a member of the Whitemarsh boat club, she regularly sculls over a 1000 miles a year and last year, 2010, sculled 1057. Not bad for someone who will shortly turn 76. Her passion for sculling still propels her: several of the pictures below shows her christening and with her second boat. This web site wishes her good luck on the water and hopes that she has many years to enjoy her new boat. Below are some pictures of Sybil on the water and dealing with sculling matters.
This description ocurs several years ago but you should be aware that the Klebans open their house for a pool party evbery year around July 4th. This normally coincides with the Arden Shakespeare festival which also takes place around the same time of year so it is possible every year to see an actor who days before has played Henry the fourth or Henry the Eighth (or some other Henry) lolling around the pool. We might add the Allan Kleban, mentioned below and the husband of Sharon Kleban, plays some part in the Shakespeare festival each year.
It always pays to bring your camera when going on adventures. On July 4th, having discussed the Arden community in a prior Isreal dance session with a local resident, the disk coordinator thought he would hike around the environs of the Arden Gild to see for himself the kind of unique neighborhood that borders the gild. It really is like traveling back 80, perhaps 100 years and it is hard to believe that this enclave still stands within what is now greater Wilmington. Moving along what used to be cowpaths (only now slightly wider for SUVs and the like) we happened upon a pool party where we recognized several participants. Who could have guessed? Surrepticiously (and that's the only way the disk coordinator does things) we crashed the party and below you can see some of the shots of Sharon Kleban's July 4th pool party.
Looking above at the first picture, we see Karen enjoying a conversation at poolside. Karen is both a regular at Arden and the Arden Fair and, if memory serves, has attended Don's Thursday class once. To Karen's right is Susan who also is a regular at Arden and the Arden Fair. She has many times accompanied Wilmington on trips to Don's class on Thursday. Susan also is a regular at the Newark, Del international folk dance sessions and she is responsible for the appearance of the Arden (Wilmington) Israeli dancers performance at the Arden Fair being a part of YouTube. Moving to the right, we see the hostess, Sharon Kleban, enjoying her pool during the party. Apparently the invitations did include the offer of the pool and several attendees took Sharon up on this. As we panned around, we spotted someone in a July 4th top - notice the red, white and blue flag type art work. We took this picture to document the time of year that this party was taking place.
Above is a shot of Allan, Sharon's husband, as he tends to the grille and Dave, another of the Arden Israeli dancers. Alan is very active in the Arden Gild and sometimes acts as emcee for various events. Dave is also active at the Gild but is probably better known for his vigorous rendition of Bou Nashir Leretz Yaffa. To the right, we believe this is a poorly set shot of Fay who we will see below sitting by the pool. Moving to the right is a shot of people helping themselves to the food that was prepared by Alan. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves with provisions made for both meat eaters and vegans. The last picture on the second row captures both Sharon and Dave in separate conversations.
Above we catch both Susan and Elaine. Elaine is the administrative head of the Arden Israeli dancers and also donates considerable time to the Arden Gild and its events. She generally joins others when they venture up to Don's Thursday sessions. Next to them is Barbara. Barbara, who also has accompanied the group at various times to Don's Thursday class, has been the recipient of the Israeli dancer of the week award for her courage in dancing despite great pain. We will not go into details here about this, but there have been times that she has danced where she shouldn't have been on her feet thereby showing both great spirit, courage and determination. Next to Barbara is a poolside shot including Fay, another regular at the Arden Israeli dance sessions who we have supposedly seen above. Fay and Barbara both attend the Newark Friday night sessions and have been leaders of that session at various times. Finally, we have another picture of Karen.
We were also told at this party that there are some that define intelligence as the constant attempt through life to continue learning. Now, we're not sure if this pertains to this writer but we will indicate to you what we learned on our trip to Arden and its environs
On June 16th, 2012, Sharon Polsky used the auditorium of the Westfield Friends school to run another oldies party in Cinnaminson. Tbis time, as cohost, Ken Avner joined her. Below you can several shots where he is acting as DJ. This was a sort of homecoming for Ken given that for a while in the '90s he was the leader of Israeli dancing in Philadelphia at the Gershman Y. Besides the pictures of Ken, we provide other pictures of the oldies event as taken by Sharon and Lee Friedman with Sharon's camera. A script has not been provided due to a lack of one of our asst editors reaching his assignment that day - which was this affair. But, below is a panorama pertaining to the event and we hope to make our appointed rounds on the next oldies event.
