Opposite page:
Top: Laura Langberg
joins the circle.
Bottom: Nira Alphont
leads her dancers.
B
eth Abraham Hillel Moses's
religious school has a
uniquely Israeli flavor.
Religious school director
Cantor Ben-Zion Lanxner is Israeli, as
is his entire staff of teachers, and the
school even pipes Israeli tunes into the
parking lot as students arrive.
Adding to what Hebrew teacher
Nira Alphont calls "a little Israel in
West Bloomfield," is the Thursday
evening folk dance class. Under
Alphont's tutelage, the group of 10
girls from fourth to seventh grade
(girls and boys from the community at
large are also welcome) learn tradition-
al dances and perform at the school's
holiday celebrations.
"It's great exercise and while they're
dancing, they're learning Hebrew,"
says Alphont, who learned to dance as
a child. "I grew up dancing in the
street in Israel," she says. "This was
our entertainment. We didn't have
Gameboy or TV back then."
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❑
This page:
Top: Nira Alphont demonstrates
new steps using an Israeli video.
Middle: Nira Alphont, Rachel
Matz, Arielle Berlin and Jessica
Epstein work on some moves.
Left: Megan Light, Arielle Berlin,
Lindsay Kwaselow, Laura Lang-
berg, Rachel Matz and Jessica
Epstein raise their arms with
teacher Nira Alphont.
4/24
1998
2