Dance Highlights Jewish Mothers

The Crown Heights’ Beis Rivkah School auditorium was recently overflowing in excess of 200 local mothers and sisters who came to watch their loved ones in a most unique performance.

The event was the first dance recital of the Shira Dance Studio, the only tznius dance school in Crown Heights, where the dress code, music, frum teachers and manner of instruction and behavior are all within a chasidishe environment and focused on halacha.

Young female performers from ages three to 25, entertained and moved the crowd in a themed show dedicated to mothers of many generations, aptly entitled “Emainu.”

Each age group in the recital presented a dance featuring the life of a different mother in history including, Sarah Emainu, Rivkah Emainu, Rochel Emainu, Leah Emainu, Miriam HaNavios, Esther, Chana, shluchos, Rebbetzin Chana, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, and the beloved dorm mother of Machon Chana, Mrs. Gansburg who recently passed away. The audience was left in awe as the girls presented their literally moving stories, all while outfitted with costumes and props to help visualize the lives they portrayed.

The show director and founder of Shira Dance Studio, Shira Nesenoff, expressed to the audience before the show started that she had been in many performances as a child. She grew up in less religious settings and had attended a non-Jewish dance school. As a member of her local dance company she had participated in various types of recitals and competitions, and nothing ever felt meaningful to her. “I always wished that dance could be used as a tool for telling a story and inspiring an audience,” Shira explained to the audience in the filled theater. “I am so proud to finally present a tznius dance show, telling an extremely powerful story, the story of the Jewish people through their mothers.”

Women came from near and far to see the recital and most were first timers to such an event.

“I have never seen such a recital in my life,” said shluchah Rivki Grossbaum who drove in from Long Island for the performance. “The children were so professional and the costumes, music and story were all chasidishe and thoroughly entertaining.”

Professional dance director from Manhattan, Linda Lawrence who attended said, “Shira really knows how to teach children and produce a beautiful show, her love for dance and children shines through the performances.”

The mothers who have brought their children to lessons and rehearsals throughout the year were thrilled and kvelling. “It was a totally awesome show,” said Ashara Zukerman a mother of a nine-year-old performer. “I love the message and the messengers; I couldn’t stop smiling.”

The finale of the recital was a performance accompanied by the music “Eshes Chayil” and was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Gansburg, who, had literally for decades, “raised” hundreds of daughters at the Machon Chana Seminary and is beloved by Chabad communities throughout the world. “I cried with a smile on my face,” said Yehudis Cohen, assistant principal of the Machon Chana Seminary who attended the recital. “Sometimes dance can express a person’s life more than even words.”

The Shira Dance Studio dancers left the show with smiles on their faces and excitement in their eyes, all with one question buzzing around, “What will the show’s theme be next year?”

Shira Dance Studio can be contacted at [email protected].