Traditionally Debka is performed only by men; but the Druse community in Daliat El Carmel agreed to teach the moves to Renana Raz's female dancers.
By ELLA LEVITT
The Renana Raz Dance Group, one of the most innovative dance troupes in Israel, teams up with Druse dancers from Daliat El Carmel for a performance fusing folk and modern dance, tonight and tomorrow night on the Suzanne Dellal stage in Tel Aviv.
Renana Raz is inspired by folk dancing, a theme she has been exploring and incorporating into her modern dance choreography for some time. As this weekend's performance will demonstrate, director Raz insists that folkdance is a creative expression that unites human beings from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. Whether it be Israeli folk dance on a moshav, Druse dancing in the North or traditional dancing from any another culture, folk dance helps unite people and find common ground, says Raz, who believes that folk dance is a common language everyone can understand.
This weekend's dance consists of three parts: the Druse dancers will showcase their traditional Debka dance, followed by the Raz group performing a work inspired by it. In the third segment, the Druse dancers and the modern dancers perform together.
Traditionally Debka is performed only by men; but the Druse community in Daliat El Carmel, a village in the North, agreed to teach the moves to Renana Raz's female dancers.
The performance will be held tonight at 10 p.m., Saturday at 9 p.m. and again on March 3 (9 p.m.) at the Suzanne Dallal Center, 5 Yehieli Street, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv. Full-price tickets: NIS 90; reduced: NIS 45 - NIS 63. Box office: (03) 510-5656