Israeli dance troupe performs at Yawkey Club

Sarah Bergeron

Last Thursday was anything but a typical afternoon at the Yawkey Club in Roxbury.

The BETA Dance Troupe from Haifa, Israel gave a special performance to an audience of more than one hundred kids ranging in age from six to 18 at the former Roxbury Boys & Girls Club in Roxbury last week.  The performance, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, included tribal Ethiopian tribal “shoulder dancing” of contemporary rhythms and spiritual chanting.

“These unique events are good exposure for the kids to cultures outside Roxbury, outside Massachusetts and even outside the United States,” said Peter Rosemond, director of operations for the Yawkey Club.

The floor was cleared of all the chairs as the dancers came off the stage to dance with the children, ending the hour with the entire room erupting in dance.  The performance was the last of four during their visit to Boston from Boston’s sister city of Haifa.  The troupe, who have been together for eight years, are all graduates from the University of Haifa and have made two previous trips to the United States to perform.

Dr. Ruth Eschel, director of the BETA Dance Troupe said, “We perform to show others, especially children, a more multicultural side of Israel that many people do not know exists.”