369. Israeli and Indian Dance Lessons.

I did some Israeli folk dancing this week. I could have done some Gujarati dancing too. So could you. The Israeli lessons cost $5 and were worth every cent. But I couldn’t take pictures and dance at the same time at the Indian event.

 The Indian dance was at the Spring Festival of an organization teaching tabla (drumming) and Kathak dancing. It was at the Bickford Centre near the Christie subway station. It was that very cold, breezy Saturday.

 

Copyright ©2013 Ruth Lor Malloy

 Joanna de Souza chose a lively folk dance that is usually performed at a winter festival so her students could keep warm. Joanna, who is of Scottish origin, has been teaching tabla and dance in Toronto since 1988.

 

Copyright ©2013 Ruth Lor Malloy

 A bonus indoors was a display of Bengali dance by Piya Das of Mississauga.

Copyright ©2013 Ruth Lor Malloy

 Then after we all ate some Indian food, Razak Eirani (left) and Nagshad Ali Husein performed some amazing drumming while Joanna accompanied them on the harmonium. It was all free though pot luck contributions were suggested. See: www.tablaensemble.com. 

 As for the Israeli dance lesson, this was at the Jewish Community Centre at Spadina and Bloor. Teacher Yossi Strauch and friendly fellow students had even me doing a traditional line dance perfectly within an hour. Sorry, no pictures available.

 Stay tuned for such international dance opportunities in the future. I assure you, they weren’t all that difficult and they were a lot of fun. I felt a lovely feeling of community with all of us laughing and in step together.

 Please regularly visit www.torontomulticulturalcalendar.com for a list of free or nearly-free events in Multicultural Toronto. You can also follow us at www.Twitter.com/torontomulticul for last minute reminders and changes.