1. Bulgar Medley
The bulgar is an athletic dance done in a circle or line, usually with a shoulder hold.  Versions of this 6 count dance are done by most every group of peoples within spitting distance of the Mediteranean:  Greeks, Arabs, Yugoslavians, Bulgarians, eyc.  In fact, "Bulgar" comes from the term "bulgaresca" referring to a klezmer tune with a Bulgarian feel and the distinctive syncopated beat.  The Zionists seized on the beat and the dance, and called the dance the Hora.  Our version is long enough to give you a good workout, but mercifully short enough not to kill you entirely.  (If running and kicking get to be too much, you can always dance a freylakh to this music , too)

2. Liebes Tantz
The final jaunty tune has a Moldavian, or southern Ukrainian feeling. The music and dance both are very akin to Romanian music and dance. Zev Feldman; scholar, musician and dancer, likes to do what he calls a country hora to tones like this. It really has the feeling of a folk dance, with a longer step sequence than most Yiddish dances. Israeli dances, and the new Orthodox Simcha dances, are full of step combinations that are much more complicated than this. Relax and enjoy the groove.

3. Couples Bulgar
Oy! Suppose you want the sociability and structure of a sher, but you and your partner can’t find 3 couples to dance with. Or the band isn’t willing or able to play the sher long enough or sensibly enough. Well, you’re in luck. With just one other couple, the four of you can dance a Couple’s Bulgar, which has much the same structure as a sher, without all the extra yardage. While you could do a Couple’s Bulgar to most any klezmer music, this set really fits (like a glove) and will let you circle, swing partners, and promenade many happy times through.

4. Khotinskaya (Dybbuk Potch tantz)
If your only association with the Yiddish word “potch” is the word “tukhes”, this could save you years of therapy. “Potch” just means “clap” and Potch tanz (usually written “patch tanz”) is just a dance with a clapping hands figure underscored by the music. There’s one tune that’s pretty well known and was adapted by an Israeli choreographer into an easy dance. This isn’t that dance.

Rather, the main figure of this dance is taken from a potch tanz done by women in the classic film “The Dybbuk”. I found a congenial match for that figure (which blows by much too quickly in the movie) in an old Belf orchestra tune, as arranged by Frank London. The rest of the dance was arranged by Frank London. The rest of the dance was arranged by myself as a garnish for that lovely potch figure. Any even number of dancers can do this one. Hope you like it.

5. Sher Medley
One of the driving reasons for creating this album was to have at last a full recording of a sher – the Jewish square dance. The sher was a regular feature at many Jewish wedding in Europe and America, and a lot of music exists of this dance. However, until now none has been recorded that is long enough to actually finish all the dance figures! Just imagine starting on a scenic highway only to find they stopped construction miles from your destination. Our version is tailored to sit the sher as it was done by staff and counselors at the Workmen’s Circle camp in Sylvan Lake, NY in the 1940’s. It was collected by Deborah Strauss and me from the recollections of former staff member Naomi Lasher. The repeating chorus melody is one of the best known shers – sometimes called Freylakh tines that match well with the dance.

6. Pas D'Espan
Pete Sokolow sent me on hunt for this one when he mentioned that back in the day, he often got requests for this dance. Pas D’Espan is a Russian waltz with a French name and a Spanish flavor. I’m eternally indebted to Helen Winkler for help in locating instructions for this schmaltzy, showy charmer. The usual tune for Pas D'Espan, found in many, many a klezmer band book, is pretty dull. Here we use a version recorded by the great Dave Tarras, lovingly resurrected by Ken Maltz.

7. Litvak Tanz
All right, I confess. There isn’t a “Litvak tanz”. I made this one up. But there is a Litvish way of dancing – a distinctive repertoire of bouncy skipping steps. Eddie Cantor, himself a Litvak, drew his signature style from this heymishe (homey) folkdancing. I arranged a couple of steps I learned from two Jewish Lithuanian dancers living in Atlanta into this little confection which has proved appealing on the dance floor. It’s what tanzmeisters do. We start off with the tune Neyer Sher (which once was new, but isn’t really a sher) and end with one of the cheeriest melodies ever written: Hopkele. (Who says Jewish music has to be sad?)

8. Freylakh Medley
A Freylakh (Yiddish for happy) is the default Yiddish dance. When in doubt, grab hands and walk, trot, or kick up your heels in circles and lines. And don’t forget to Shayn (show off) in the center! Here is a simkha on a CD – enough music for many, many figures and at a moderate but joyful tempo so you don’t plotz (keel over). By the way, when you hear that repeated rhythmic motif in the second tune, don’t think “Jingle Bells” – think “Mazel Tov”. It’s a Jewish thing.

Steve Weintraub, Tanzmeister