Let's party
Photo: Oren Agmon
Religious women believe in dancing
New hit among religious women: Women-only dancing sessions held once a month; women groove to hip hop
"Dance as if no one is looking at you," reads a sign posted at the entrance of a hall where religious women meet to dance.
Once a month, dance-loving religious women from across the country meet at the Ramat Beit Shemesh Cultural Center for a treat of groove provided by the courtesy of DJ Lea Sardes.
Disco, hip hop, salsa, samba, and belly dancing are on the menu.
Cultural Center Manager Miri Shalom is behind the project which is aimed at giving religious women the chance to express themselves away from forbidden nightclubs and dance mixed clubs.
"The energies on dance evenings for women are amazing," Shalom said. "The women dance to tunes by Shakira and Umm Kultum … even after four hours of dancing they don't want to stop. The minute the evening is over they ask about the next time."
Nurit, a regular dancer at the center spoke of her experience: "After evenings like this I feel that I am making dance steps on the street. My husband says that it fills me with enough energy for a whole week."
The success of the project has inspired cultural centers in areas known for large religious population to organize similar activities.
The wage of the success even reached New York, where religious Jews asked for assistance to set up similar projects there.
