Kelli McChesney Israeli Partner Dancing demonstration of Lead and Follow

Kelli had no Israeli Dance experience at all. These videos are her first hour of Israeli Dancing. She is dancing without any prepartion or instruction whatsoever. Think about that for a moment. Imagine a newcomer to your group and the first thing you do is five advanced Israeli Partner dances without instruction.

The videos are listed in the order they were done.

1. Remez with Kelli and Andrew - This is the first time Kelli is ever doing an Israeli Dance. A few things to note. She keeps dancing in place in time to the music, while my back is to her. In the beginning, she walks in time to the music and does not try to follow my feet. We danced these dances all the way through, which gave her more time to catch on. She picks up more and more of the triple steps as we go along. She picks these up from body language, not from looking down. In the workshop, we learn even better how to follow the triple steps. An impressive first dance.
   
   
2. Erev Kachol Amok with Kelli and Andrew - having never seen Israeli Dancing before, she does not know about an inner and outer circle mirroring each other, one facing in and one facing out, but she still dances this advanced dance well. I got better since the demonstrations with Juliana, and was able to do some things to make this dance easier for Kelli. Notice how both Kelli and Juliana dance with their hands out, making them available for the man. See how easily they both make connection with their partner.
   
   
3. Esh with Kelli and Andrew - Kelli had never heard Yemenite music or done a Yemenite step before this dance. She had some trouble with this, until the last time through, when she started getting the hang of it.
   
   
4. Esperanza with Kelli and Andrew - piece of cake. See how she easily gets the first turn in part two and also the turn and one half at the end of the dance. This is called a momentum signal and is how she knows to turn.
   
   
5. Tango Achshav with Kelli and Andrew - an hour before, she had never seen an Israeli Dance. She did this dance as well as anyone. Watch the way she steps backward in closed position. She keeps her weight forward as she steps back. This allows her to wait until her partner steps. In this way she can distinguish between slow steps and quick steps.