Eve Cameron recognized for teaching Israeli Dance

12:00AM / Wednesday, June 27, 2001Print Story | Email Story

Years ago a dance teacher told Eve Cameron that she should always dance. At the time she didnâ€™t really feel the significance of that comment, but it seems maybe somewhere inside her the message stuck. Now, something else has told her that she should always be teaching: a Harold Grinspoon Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. The two are related since itâ€™s her teaching of Israeli dance that won her this honor. The energy that has come from the second message has grabbed hold too. With the recognition from the Grinspoon Foundation comes a trip to Israel and a financial award, and with it she wants to take a dance tour of Israel. Meanwhile sheâ€™s also started taking more classes in Albany with the ultimate goal of teaching teachers how to give Israeli Dance instruction. Her Pittsfield based program at Sinai Academy, where she teaches all of the students Israeli dance, is the only one of its scope in Western Massachusetts. She also teaches at Knesset Israel in Pittsfield, and last winter held adult classes at Sinai Academy as well. Most of what Cameron does she does with kids. At a recent Albany Israeli Dance Festival her kids shone, from kindergardeners doing traditional folk dances to her older 4th and 5th graders adding a more modern folk piece. In fact the costumes started as long silk tunics and loose fitting pants that tied at the ankle, but after their first piece, the kids pulled their tunics off over their heads and untied their pants to become a modern group in bell bottoms and tie dye shirts. They moved to Yemeni inspired rhythms. The first Israeli dance came from the pioneer period just before and after Israeli statehood. People were coming to the kibbutzim and brought with them rhythms and dance from all over the world that would influence the folk tradition in Israel. She explains that this is still happening since Israel continues to be a melting pot. Spanish and Moroccan rhythms are as likely as the Eastern European or middle Eastern ones, and they all form what she calls folk. â€œFolk dancing is of the folk, so whatever the folk are doing, thatâ€™s folk dancing,â€ At a recent panel on Israeli dance at Hofstra University the question was raised, â€œIs it really Israeli if it sounds like itâ€™s from Mexico?â€ to which a panel ethnologist answered that this form will always be changing and transforming. In fact, Cameronâ€™s name will go on some of the newer dances, since she has choreographed, including a piece recently performed by the graduating class at Sinai. She says this has no less value than the dances of which she has notes from 1945 and 1957. What makes Israeli folk dance special, she says, is that itâ€™s not just from a particular country, but rather from a culture and a religion. She thinks it also connects people to their national homeland. Parents who came to the graduation yesterday and saw the dance were pleased to see that their children have learned to connect religion not just with books and praying, but with their whole bodies, she says. Itâ€™s like art in that way, she says: Itâ€™s another wonderful way to feel and to express.

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Weekend Outlook: Crafting, Concerts and More

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Friday, January 30, 2026

Check out the events happening this weekend, including shows, crafting, and more.

Editor's Pick

Murder on the Menu
197 East St., Lenox
Time: Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m.

Join the drama department at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School for a comedic, interactive murder mystery. Try to solve the mystery by interacting with the cast.

Tickets are $20 and include a dinner of pasta, salad, and dessert.

More information here.

Friday

Vivaldi & Mozart Candlelight Experience
Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield
Time: 6 to 7, 8 to 9 p.m.

Enjoy a candlelight concert of music by Mozart and Vivaldi. Tickets are $30 to $70.

More information and tickets here.

Common Craft Night
165 East Main St., North Adams
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.

Bring a craft you have been working on and join others to socialize.

More information here.

Guthrie Family Singers

Stationery Factory, Dalton

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Guthrie Family Singers are Sarah Lee, Serena, and Robin Guthrie, all granddaughters of Woody Guthrie. They offer a blend of folk, indie, country, gospel, and classic girl-group sounds. Suitable for all ages.

Tickets can be purchased here.

'The Little Shop of Horrors'

Bennington (Vt.) Theater

Time: 6 p.m.

The theater at 331 Main St. screens Roger Corman's classic 1960 horror-comedy, which spawned the Broadway musical and a 1986 film.

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