An experience from the dance committee, dancers and choreographers from the Ken Jewish Community:

Another trip to Mexico City for the Festival Aviv has come and gone.  The preparations for this trip started in September and ended one day before we left on March 27th    with our last rehearsal.  For the Festival Aviv in Mexico City we are given themes that our dances have to reflect.  This year for the younger group Lehatjil (7-9th grade) the theme was to recreate a painting from a Jewish painter with a Jewish theme, and for the older group Gozal (10th grade and above) the theme was to recreate a quote from a Jewish author with a Jewish theme.  We knew our choreographers had their work cut out for them because these two ideas were very difficult to create an entire dance around these themes.  

Endless amounts of rehearsals and dedication went into six months of choreographing, dancing, looking for the correct music, making props and many other things.  The time comes and goes very quickly and by the time you turn around we were ready to leave.

Lehatjil (7-9th grade) danced with so much energy and poise that they stunned the audience with their ability to take a picture and recreate it into a dance, kudos to Daisy Adato our choreographer who made a beautiful picture of Moroccan Refugees into an dance full of energy and life with music that everyone wanted to get up and dance.  This dance had to be 4 minutes long. 

Gozal (10th grade and above) is our group that goes to compete.  They actually go to Mexico City and compete against many groups of the same age for the top prize.  Sharon Neuman the choreographer for this group had her work cut out for her especially with such a difficult theme but again she amazed everyone with a dance that came from her vision of a quote from Yitzhak Rabin’s granddaughter after his assassination.  This dance was full of emotion and disbelief of what was going on in her life and the entire Jewish Community.  Gozal definitely proved themselves to be worthy of all of the applause that they received in Mexico this is a dance that left everyone speechless and with goose bumps.  Congratulations on a job well done.  This dance had to be 8-10 minutes.

I can truly say that 6 months have came and went, however the memories and friendships made in these past 6 months are unforgettable.  Not only does San Diego go to Mexico City but this year groups from Venezuela, Miami, Israel and Cuba were there as well.  The experience is once in a lifetime.  If you are interested in participating in this unique experience as a dancer, choreographer or simply to donate time or money, please call the Ken Jewish Community at (619) 475-2110. 

We will be presenting in various community events throughout the year if you are interested in scheduling a performance please call the number above.

Sincerely,

Maty Adato, Bertha Fridman, Mauricio Margolis and Esther Maya