A Dispatch From Horati, an Israeli Folk Dance Festival in Queens That Included Nightly Dance Parties (Of Course)
When I entered the sweaty dance studio at Queens College, an instructor was yelling into a mic. “Ooh-pah!” he said to what appeared to be a mostly over-50 crowd. “Start with right: Right and left and one and back and one and back… Up your left hand!”
Bellies rolled and hips twisted. The uninhibited clapping, pivoting, and grapevining reminded me of my days as an Israeli dance teacher at a summer camp. Sure, this wasn’t Camp Ben Frankel in Carbondale, Illinois, but I was ready to bust a move nonetheless. How hard could it be?