'Nekudot' dance by DJ Raphi spreads light amid darkness of war

Israeli artists DJ Raphi and Shmuel released a music video for the fan-favorite song ‘Nekudot’ together on the first of the month to uplift their audience base. 

DJ Raphi creates dances such as the one to Nekudot, which, according to his YouTube biography, aims to teach his “worldwide” audience “valuable lessons. "

Though ‘Nekudot’ isn’t a new song, DJ Raphi has repopularized it with his dance. He believes that as the Israel-Hamas war continues, “it’s important to find moments of light,” he commented on his X/Twitter profile on September 4th. 

Though the song is upbeat in pace and paired with the hip-hop-style dance moves typical to his other videos, the fast tempo and colorful graphics accompany lyrics that speak to a theme of perseverance. Translated, one of the lyrics says, “The pain you've been through testifies to the courage and good within you.” 

This song can be used to “uplift spirits” for “all ages,” Raphi shared in a commentary on the new release. The song and dance in collaboration “can create a place where people feel comfortable," Raphi added in a statement on his website. 

DJ Raphi released a statement sharing his motivations for creating the dance.

Raphi expressed his motivations for his work and the importance of his dance.

"This past week has been incredibly hard with the ongoing war and the tragic loss of innocent hostages," he said in a statement. "In times like these, it's important to find moments of light, and Shmuel’s song 'Nekudot' does just that. It was an absolute pleasure to have Shmuel join for part of the video; his warmth and energy definitely added to the project.”

Raphi has created similar videos with simple dance moves and colorful graphics for his audience to follow along.

These videos are a great way to “combine the joy of movement,” he noted.

The videos are full of bold colors and large printed words so its possible to follow along easily. They are often in the pop genre with hip-hop dance moves.