Hora To Hip-Hop

Israeli dance crew brings Jewish beat to Ann Arbor.

Ann Arbor

E

xperience the ener-
gy of Israel's culture
as never before
without leaving Michigan.
Sheketak: Rhythm in
Motion brings the energy
and rhythm of Israeli dance
to Ann Arbor's Power Center
at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 5.
Sheketak combines dance,
movement, percussion and
street energy similar to the
popular British group Stomp.
The Sheketak Crew fuses
sound sound, light, dance,
rhythm, hip hop, live music,
video, all on one stage. The
performance thrills audi-
Sheketak: Rhythm in Motion, in action
ences with a blast of interac-
tive energy that fascinates all
ages, even those who claim not to care for
In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary,
"dance!"
Sheketak has created a special perfor-
Sheketak's creations take 2,000 years of
mance, "Israel's Rhythm, From Hora
Jewish rhythms from all over the world as
to Hip-Hop!' This show is a journey of
their inspiration. The group mixes those
sounds, visuals, movement and theater,
rhythms with the latest in sound and
full of humor, rhythm and "samples" of
video technology effects as well as with
Israeli culture. The group's live band and
the popular music and rhythms of hip-
percussive dancers transform old, familiar
hop and rock.
Hebrew songs into arrangements and per-

May 4, 10 a.m., JCC, West Bloomfield:
lsrael®60 Birthday Bash, a children's
concert and celebration for Israel's
60th. Free. Sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
and Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education. (248) 642-4260 ext. 534.

May 4, 12:15 p.m. JCC West
Bloomfield: Walk for Israel. Enjoy a
light kosher lunch (pre-registration
requested), Israeli music and friends.
Walk to Temple Israel for ice cream,
then back to the JCC. Free. As part of
a worldwide initiative called Walk the
Land, participate wearing a Walk the
Land T-shirt and carrying a Walk the
Land water bottle and sling. For info
on Walk the Land items or the walk,
contact Mark Segel @ 248-208-2773
or at myalesegel@finsvcs.com — or go
to www.israelwalk.com . Co-sponsored
by JCC, Federation, IsraelSixty, Temple
Israel and JCC Maccabi Games.

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April 17 • 2008

May 6, 7:30 p.m., Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road,
Southfield: Communitywide Yom
HaZikaron commemoration for Israel's
fallen soldiers and victims of terror-
ism. Free. Arrive by 7:15 p.m. Free.
Co-sponsored by Michigan Board of
Rabbis, Friends of IDF, IsraelSixty,
Kollel Torah Mitzion, Yeshivat Akiva,
Young Israel Council of Metropolitan
Detroit. For more information, contact
Yoav Raban at (248) 203-1462 or
raban@jfmd.org .

May 7, 7:30, The Max, 3711 Woodward
Ave., Detroit: "Taking It To The Max,"
Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence
Day) celebration concert featuring
Israeli singer Noa, who will per-
form with the DSO. Debut of film by
Academy Award-winning filmaker Sue
Marx showing the unique relationship
between Detroit and Israel. Concert
is followed by an After Party in the

formances that leave spectators bouncing
in their seats. But you don't have to know
Hebrew to feel the movement and energy
from these songs or others from Israel's
diverse ethnic groups.
The show includes Sheketak's reper-
toire of body percussion, percussion with
sticks, pots and pans, tap dance, Darbuka
(Middle Eastern drum), hip-hop dance

Music Box. For tickets, contact
www.detroitsymphony.com . Sponsored
by the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.

May 8, noon, Akiva Hebrew Day
School, 21100 W. 12 Mile Road,
Southfield: Yom HaAtzmaut cel-
ebration, a fun-filled day celebrating
Israel's 60th birthday. Free. Sponsored
by IsraelSixty. For more information,
go to www.akivak12.org .

May 8, 3:30 p.m., Hillel Day School,
32200 Middlebelt Road, Farmington
Hills: Israel Independence Day carni-
val, open to the community, complete
with games, prizes, giant blow-ups,
airbrush tattoos, arts and crafts, and
Israeli food. Free. For more informa-
tion, call Cheryl Schanes at (248) 539-
1488.

with "bora" moves, and even
rap in Hebrew.
To see Sheketak in action,
visit
www.jewishannarbor.org/
celebrateisrael and click on
the Sheketak video. Ticket
prices range from $12 to
$40 and are available at
the Michigan Union Ticket
Office
www.umich.edu/—muto or
ticketmaster.com .
Sheketak's performance
is part of the Celebrate
Israel@60 sponsored by
the Jewish Federation of
Washtenaw County and 14
other local organizations.
Celebrate Israel@60 is an
eight-month celebration of
Israel's 60th birthday and
offers a variety of programming to bring
Israel's culture, music, history, food, film,
fashion and energy directly to the greater
Ann Arbor community.
A complete list of Celebrate Israel
activities can be found at the Web site
www.jewishannarbor.org/celebrateis-
rael.

June 13, 1 p.m., Congregation Beth
Ahm, 5075 W. Maple Road, West
Bloomfield: Israel Scout Concert, spon-
sored by the Beth Ahm. Free. For more
information, call (248) 851-6880.

June 17, 7:30 p.m., Walled Lake
Northern High School, Performing
Arts Center, 6000 Bogie Lake Road,
Commerce: "Celebrating Israel in Song
and Dance" brings to town the interna-
tionally acclaimed dancers, singers and
musicians of the Chai Folk Ensemble of
Winnepeg, Canada. Sponsored by B'nai
B'rith Great Lakes Region, which will
honor Arline Bittker at the event with
its 2008 B'nai B'rith Guardian of the
Menorah Award. Tickets for this fund-
raiser are $18, $36, $100 and $250 for
patrons, which includes a pre-glow. For
more information, call (248) 646-3100.
For more information on the dance
group, go to www.chai.mb.ca for more
information.