12 August 1 • 2019
jn
T
he Detroit Maccabi dance team just wants
to have fun. A group of 17 close-knit girls
ranging in age from 12 to 16, the dancers
clearly have a great time together and love what
they are doing.
The team’
s upbeat attitude and familial dynam-
ic are responsible for their history of success,
according to coaches Liz Rosen and Paula Lynn.
The JCC Maccabi Games will be held for the sixth
time in Detroit Aug. 4-9.
“Detroit does very well in dance at Maccabi,”
Lynn said as she observed her team warming up
at a rehearsal. “Hopefully, we can live up to the
high expectations for our team this year.”
Dance is one of Detroit’
s most successful
Maccabi competitions. The teens consistently
bring home first place in their production num-
bers and a majority of the gold medals in the indi-
vidual and small group dances.
Despite the high expectations, the girls are just
there to have a good time. The team’
s welcoming
atmosphere and the strength of the friendships
they have formed is something that continuously
impresses first-time coach Paula Lynn, who decid-
ed to begin coaching after her daughter, Mari,
aged out of the Maccabi competition.
“After my daughter aged out, we both wanted to
stay involved in the team, so I decided to coach,”
Lynn said. “Mari is our official assistant coach.”
“I absolutely love Maccabi,” said Mari, 17.
“Being an assistant coach is a different perspective
than being a dancer, but I like being able to be
someone the younger girls can look up to.”
Because Detroit is hosting the games this year,
delegations from the area can have younger ath-
letes compete. The dance team has its youngest
group in a quite a while, consisting of multiple
12- and 13-year-old dancers.
Mina Levin of Birmingham, 12, is competing
for the first time this year.
“I joined the team because I love to dance and it
sounded like fun,” she said.
Coaches Lynn and Rosen have been impressed
with how the more experienced dancers have
made the younger girls feel at home.
“We have such a nice team,” Lynn said. “They
were all new at some point, so they know what it’
s
like, and they just want to help.”
For many of the girls, it is important to encour-
age new dancers because they were nervous when
they first joined the team.
Emma Goldschmidt, 16, of Waterford didn’
t
know anyone when she joined the team four years
ago.
“I was so scared when I started, but everyone
was super nice and made me feel comfortable,”
she said.
Dancer Emma Salle of West Bloomfield had
a different set of anxieties when she joined the
team.
“I thought everyone would be a better dancer
than me,” she said with a laugh.
Despite these initial fears, after several years
on the team, the dancers are always reluctant to
Detroit’
s Maccabi dance
team plans to bring its usual
heat to the competition.
JESSIE COHEN JN INTERN
PHOTOS BY DERRICK MARTINEZ
TOP: Detroit’
s Maccabi
Dance Team stretches before
a rehearsal. ABOVE: With
concentration, Nicole Spizizen
practices a move.
Feel
The
Beat
continued on page 14
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in
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on the cover