Traditional Jewish Dance

"He has turned my mourning into dancing." - A Jewish Saying

Dancing is a means to express happiness and joy and it is part of the Jewish tradition and culture. Traditional Jewish dances were incorporated into prayer services, praise services and worship. The ethnicity of the Jews is revealed in their traditional dances. Dancing has been one of the favorite pastimes of the Jews for ages.

Traditional dance is performed after a Jewish wedding, where the bride and the bridegroom are lifted up in a chair by their relatives and friends. Then a circle dance is performed to complete the wedding ceremony.

A Few Traditional Jewish Dances

Here are a few traditional Jewish dances that are performed as part of Jewish celebrations and festivals.

Horah - This is a popular Jewish dance performed at weddings and festivals. This is a traditional dance of Israel and many East European countries. Horah is also known as the circle dance and is performed to traditional Jewish songs such as "Klezmer" and "Hava Nagila". Hora was one of the traditional Jewish dances that became popular in North America in the early 20th century.

Mizinke - Another traditional dance of the Jews. This is performed at the wedding reception of the last son or a daughter. Towards the end of the wedding reception, the mother and the father are seated on the dance floor and the guests dance around them. A lively music band accompanies the dance. The parents of the bride or the bridegroom are lavished with flowers and kisses.

Krenzl - There is a traditional Jewish custom called "Krenzl". This custom is followed when the parents give away their last daughter in marriage. The mother is seated in the center of the dance floor and a wreath of flowers adorns her head. All the daughters including the last daughter perform a lively dance around their mother.

Gladdening of the Bride - Towards the end of the wedding reception, the guests and the close family members seat the bride in the center of the dance floor and dance around her. They also sing songs that praise her. This is a traditional custom of Jewish marriages.

Traditional Jewish Dance - Israeli Folk Dance

One of the traditional folk dances of the Jews is the Israeli folk dance. Israeli folk dances are a combination of the various folk dances of Eastern Europe, which were introduced in Israel by Socialist-Zionists in the early 20th century. "Mayim" meaning "water", is an Israeli folk dance that is performed to commemorate the discovery of water at Kibbutz Na’an. Israeli Jewish dances are similar to western dances and are very lively.

Traditional Jewish Dance - Yemenite

Yemenite is a traditional Jewish dance, which came into being when the Jews were not allowed to dance in public in Yemen. Yemenite dance has stationary hopping and posturing and could be performed in confined space. Today, Yemenite is a popular dance performed by the Jews during weddings and other Jewish occasions.

This dance has just three steps with a short pause on the last step. It is "quick, quick and slow". There are, however, many variations in the Yemenite.

Traditional Jewish dances are lively and traditional Jewish music and songs accompany them. It is a traditional Jewish custom that members of the opposite sex do not dance together. However, this view has taken a change in the modern times.