The "Tzabarim"

Hello Israel!

As I sit down to write this review about the Tzabarim Israeli folklore troupe, I
cannot help but be enthusiastic.
I fear that I will be unable to convey the excitement I felt after I saw the show.
Since Saturday night, I have been trying to contain the deep emotions that welled up inside me as I watched the production, and I cannot help but fill this page with words of enthusiasm rather than with calm and measured speculations.

The music and dance were hypnotic, and to judge by the responses that were
heard from various directions at the end of the show, I was not the only one who felt this way.

Israeli folklore grew out of the Jewish tradition, which was influenced by the
cultures of many different countries, such as Yemen and other Arab countries, and the countries of Eastern Europe which held large Jewish populations. At the same time, this folklore is also dynamic and constantly changing, preserving
its traditional roots while incorporating elements of contemporary culture, evoking a sense of mysticism and physical beauty that touches our hearts.

The Tzabarim convey a sense of flowering youth, the ebb and flow of life, vividness.
Their bare feet evoke the warm sands of the desert.

The show flows from picture to picture in a rainbow of colors, shifting from the
traditional dances of the Yemenite Jews, with their liveliness and humor, to the Hassidic dances of the Orthodox Jews.

There are also more contemporary dances, in which the girls bewitch us with
graceful movements, their hair flying as they throw their heads forward.

The Hassidic dances - in which the men dance with a prayer shawl over their heads
and their hands lifted towards the sky, their faces immersed in prayer and quiet lament - convey a real sense of connection to God. One cannot help but be reminded of Jews praying at the Western Wall.

There is also a lively dance depicting a pair of lovers, who move swiftly, now
drawing near and now drawing apart, evoking the attraction of love.

The dancers' virtuosity is also reflected in the incredibly rapid change of
costumes. They do this at least ten times during the show, turning this necessary excursive into a graceful part of the dance itself.

When the dancers are backstage, the excellent orchestra entertains the audience
with musical interludes.

When the dancers left the stage to the tune of Hevenu Shalom Alechem, my eyes
filled with tears, and the audience spontaneously stood up to applaud and express some of its immense excitement.