Ursa’s fireside became the site of a world-wide remix yesterday when a variety of dance groups gathered to perform for “Dance Around the World,” a show hosted by Washington University’s Israeli dance group, Magniv.
In years past, the show was called “Jewbilation,” but underwent a name change this year, it’s third year, to “Dance around the world,” to match the diversity of the groups performing.
In the past, there has been a charge for the show, but the participants decided to make the show free this year.
“It’s kind of a way to work together for different things and to offer a great opportunity to see different cultures at once,” said Deborah Slutsky, the event’s organizer. “We just want it to grow and to see all these things we have on campus.”
This year’s show included a variety of both campus and outside dance organizations. The Gallic Culture Society, the Hawaiian Club and step dance group WUStyle all made appearances. Visiting groups included a West African dance group and a local Israeli dance group called Hora Gil.
Hora Gil, which performs traditional Israeli dances at events throughout St. Louis, includes several University alumni and current students. Members of Magniv often join Hora Gil during its open dance nights and therefore invited the group to “Dance Around the World.”
Like the show itself, Hora Gil is a “potpourri” of cultures and influences, said Rachel Persellin-Armoza, a member of the group and a current University student getting her master’s degree in international studies.
The group’s performance yesterday included traditional circle and line dances performed to music with a variety of cultural influences including Israeli rap.
“It all really represents the musical diversity you’ll find in Israel today,” said Persellin-Armoza.
Also in attendance were members of the Gaelic Culture Society (GCS). Seeing the number of other groups rehearsing around her before the show was a pleasant surprise for sophomore Ami Mehta, GCS president.
“You don’t usually see what other groups have to offer,” said Mehta. “A lot of people probably don’t know that there were this many different kinds of [cultural] groups on campus. I didn’t.”
Dance might be the ideal way for diverse groups to converge, said sophomore Jessica McLean, who performed with WUStyle.
“Dance is something that brings people together,” said McLean. “By watching someone dance, you can tell a lot about them. So you can learn a lot about a culture through its dances.”