Dancing with Love: A Mitzvah Event
December 3, 2015 by
Nearly two hundred JPDS-NC students, parents, grandparents, alumni and staff gathered together last night to be a part of the Rokdim B’Ahava (Dancing with Love) Dance-a-thon! It was an unforgettable night of dancing, community building, family fun, and mitzvot in support of Anne Frank House.
The Gottesman Auditorium was filled with the joy and energy of the dancers – adults and children alike. When not dancing, the children thoroughly enjoyed creating unique Chanukah decorations with teachers, and making edible dreidels that seemed to disappear remarkably quickly after being made. Our beloved Panda mascot added to the joyful spirit of the evening as children lined up for high fives and photo ops.
The main event of the evening was the exuberant Israeli Dancing led by our Israeli Dance team – Sherry Fox, Jennie Berger, Lisa Redisch and Sharon Gelboin-Katz – with a guest appearance by former JPDS-NC staff member Daniela Tam. Our community was also treated to a special performance by Israeli Dance troupe Hora DC – featuring JPDS-NC Artistic Manager Sherry Fox, and JPDS-NC parents Mindy Feldman (Raquel ’14, Ellis ’16) and Ilana Preuss (Yoav ’14, Ana ’17). Thank you to all the dance leaders and performers for an extraordinary night of dancing. Thanks as well to all our dancers – students from pre-K to sixth grade, alumni students, alumni parents, parents, grandparents and staff. It was inspiring to see you on the dance floor.
To support this cause, the children solicited friends and family members to sponsor them, either per dance or with a lump sum. Children then danced at the event, with some keeping track of how many dances they danced that evening, in order to report back to their sponsors and collect the money. We are delighted to report that more than $3000 has been raised so far to support those in our community who are less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you to the students and their supporters for participating in this community mitzvah event.
This school-wide mitzvah project was created with help from our Mo’etzet Talmidim (Student Council), the Sixth Grade students, and other student volunteers. The leadership and commitment that our students exhibited in promoting the event, and in volunteering at the Dance-a-thon itself, was remarkable, as was the kindness and generosity of the dedicated parents and caring staff members who volunteered to help at the event. Thank you as well to all the Anne Frank House volunteers, especially alumni parent Sue Ducat. We are grateful to all the staff and community members who made the Dance-a-thon a joyful and meaningful experience for our community.
To get a glimpse of the Dance-a-thon experience, see our photo album on Facebook. We also invite our community to check out our pop-up Artists and Activists Gallery in the North Campus lobby. The wall is filled with beautiful pictures, by students from Pre-Kindergarten to Sixth Grade, submitted for the T-shirt design contest. The children’s designs were so lovely and heartfelt that we wanted to share their incredible artwork with all of you.
The Dance-a-thon was truly a night to remember. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a success!
