Ruth Goodman, founder and director of the Israeli Dance Institute and the Parparim Ensemble of Israeli Dance and Song, has been leading 92NY’s popular Israeli Folk Dance program for over 40 years. What sustains her passion?
“Israeli folk dance is about getting people together to experience collective joy and release,” says Ruth Goodman. “What better way to do it than from your feet up?” For decades, this embodied philosophy — joy from the feet up — has led to one of the most enduring, devoted, active communities currently under our roof. Week after week, Goodman’s program draws people from all walks of life to gather at 92NY to share in the joy of traditional and contemporary dances.
Israeli folk dance choreographers draw inspiration from our heritage,” says Goodman. She emphasizes that the roots of Israeli dance tradition run deep, and they spread wide. “It’s passed down from generation to generation,” she goes on, “and it’s multicultural, because Israel and the Jewish people are multicultural.”
Goodman’s own connection to Israeli folk dance started at 92NY in the 1960s while she was studying dance at the Metropolitan Opera School of Ballet. Legendary choreographer Fred Berk — considered by many to be the "father of Israeli folk dance in the US" — led sessions at 92NY, and Goodman started attending to study with him. She instantly connected with the collectivity and uninhibited joy of the experience. “At the time it was all barefoot. It was amazing. All of these people from all walks of life were gathering to do these dances,” Goodman says. Berk recognized Goodman’s talent early on. During the late 1970s, she joined Berk as department director, and when he was getting ready to retire in 1978, he asked her to help carry the program on. She took him up on it, and she’s been doing it ever since.
“We know from Biblical sources that Jewish people danced, often in ancient agricultural festivals which were adapted in the kibbutzim. And while it comes from a Jewish tradition, it also comes from everywhere in the world where Jews have lived, because Israel has an immigrant culture,” Goodman continues. “You might find an influence from Eastern Europe, or a salsa from South America, Greek-style, African-style — all of these cultures are incorporated into the dance. It’s a melting pot. Pioneers of present-day Israeli folk dance have taken inspiration from early kibbutz life — if you’ve been working all day, then when the evening arrives you want to relax, throw your arms around each other’s shoulders and celebrate.”
The spirit of celebrating the end of the workday in community is embodied in the weekly Israeli Folk Dance Open Sessions on Wednesday nights, the centerpiece of Goodman’s program. The sessions start at 8:15 and end at 1 AM — or sometimes later. A smaller instructional class is also available, Israeli Folk Dance Basics — from 6:30-8 PM on Wednesday nights, before the Open Session — to get newcomers acquainted with the steps. Word about the sessions spread organically over the years, and participants from all over the world started showing up — and continued with the advent of virtual programming during the pandemic. The community that has emerged out of these classes is intimate and enduring — some have been coming for decades. "Ruth Goodman and her weekly Israeli dance sessions at 92NY have meant so much to me and my husband, who I met through Israeli dancing over 30 years ago,” writes one attendee. “This dancing is the heart and soul of our Jewish culture and identity. Ruth is a stellar teacher, making even the most complex dances feel doable. I wish everyone could feel the energy in the room when we dance together with Ruth leading."
Goodman regards these longstanding relationships as sacred. “With the difficult time Jews have been experiencing lately, it’s important for us to be able to gather and reflect on the words of the song, and people who come to the sessions know to leave politics and their troubles at the door. It’s very nourishing.” But when asked what keeps her engaged week after week for so many decades, Goodman points to the newcomers. “When someone comes for the first time and says, ‘I found my community,’ and lights up — we could be starting the session with the same dance I’ve done for 50 years, and that person helps me experience it anew.”
Ruth Goodman’s Israeli Folk Dance Open Sessions and Israeli Folk Dance Basics classes occur regularly on Wednesday evenings. Sign up today.