Dancing with Dorothy: an olah spreads joy through dance

With the situation as it is, we could all be forgiven for feeling sluggish and tired. Dragging ourselves to and from work each day – or wherever – is more than enough, you might think.

For professional dancer, teacher, and all-round superwoman Dorothy Eisdorfer, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The native New Yorker developed a love of dance from a young age. Ballet came first, and before long she was learning all different types of dance such as modern, ballroom, and Latin. 

Alongside her love of dance, Eisdorfer has always harbored a love of Israel, which led to her making aliyah in 2012 with her husband, Guy, and their two sons, Noam and Daniel, aged 15 and eight, respectively.

The family settled in Ra’anana, and before long Eisdorfer had set up dance workshops. She has been performing across the country ever since. She also works with actors and singers from film, TV, and stage, helping them with their movement. 

In 2013, Eisdorfer began teaching dance to youngsters at the American International School in Even Yehuda – doing what she loves best in the place she loves best. The school, she says, has a “multicultural feel” and caters to children of diplomats from all parts of the globe, as well as native Israelis.

Every year, the school comes together to celebrate its diversity with International Day, in which each country is celebrated. 

When the Magazine spoke to Eisdorfer about living in Israel and the joy she spreads through dance, she spoke excitedly about the special performance of Eden Golan’s Eurovision hit “Hurricane,” which she’d recently choreographed for her students to perform for Israel on International Day. 

International Day, she explained, affords children at the school the opportunity to embrace and showcase all the different nationalities represented in their “blended community.”

Like all of us in Israel, Eisdorfer was inspired by Golan’s strength and wanted to harness this for the benefit of the children and the school. “Against all adversity, what she did was incredible,” she enthused.

The dance troupe

HER YOUNG dance troupe, some of whom had never danced before, comprised 10 children, aged nine to 10, and included one boy. Together, they aimed to highlight Israel “through the power of dance,” she explained.

Rehearsals started in February and before long, the children had mastered the steps of the contemporary piece that Eisdorfer had choreographed for them. Although Golan’s song “Hurricane” was the same, the dance the children performed was entirely original, with no bearing on the Eurovision performance.

While choreographing the children’s dance, Eisdorfer concentrated on the symbolism that ties into the story. Her primary goal was to “extract the best from each child” so that each one’s “strength was channeled into the dance,” she said.

The children met once a week to rehearse, with strict instructions to practice at home in between.

The thought, time, and effort that went into creating their costumes was no less impressive, Eisdorfer confirmed. The girls wore soft blue; and in contrast, the boy in the troupe wore dark blue for the performance. At his suggestion, at the end of the dance when Golan speaks Hebrew, he unfurled an Israeli flag for all to see – a very special moment, Eisdorfer said emotionally.

The young dancers had the honor of performing the opening act in the school’s outdoor amphitheater, watched by the whole faculty, as well as the parents. They were given a standing ovation, which Eisdorfer said she’ll never forget.

These dancers were followed by other youngsters who, again, under Eisdorfer’s tutelage, performed dances originating from different parts of the world, including mambo, samba, and Texas freestyle.

All her students at the American school love to dance, Eisdorfer said, doubtless in no small part owing to her enthusiasm and passion. “Dance can change someone’s life,” she enthused.

Eisdorfer is also passionate about the school, which she described as a “wonderful place,” where she feels “free to create.” She said its “supportive staff” has also helped to make it her “sanctuary” over the past few months. 

EISDORFER SPOKE warmly about her own family. Her older son, Noam, doesn’t follow in her footsteps as far as dancing is concerned, although he is a gifted saxophonist and cyber enthusiast, she said. Daniel, on the other hand, definitely takes after his talented mother.

“He’s like a young Gene Kelly,” she joked, adding that he’s got that “old school charm.” Clearly delighted by this development, Eisdorfer said she thought it was important that “boys should feel free to dance.” 

That said, she laughed when asked if her husband, the co-founder of a cybersecurity company, shared her love of dance. “He does not dance,” she replied firmly, “but he’s very supportive… we balance each other.”

Eisdorfer encourages all her students to dance: “Every child should have the joy of dance,” she enthused. To enable them to throw off their inhibitions and get the most from her classes, she starts by telling them to “get the sillies out”  before the class begins. On occasion, she’s been known to hold her lessons outside in the amphitheater, using her boom box to provide the music, which everyone loves.

In addition to the work she’s done so far involving dancing, Eisdorfer would like to use her talents to help the many families displaced from their homes by the war. With that in mind, she plans to open dance workshops for them over the summer, although this is still in the planning stages. She is also working on other projects and collaborations, about which she promised to reveal more at a later date.

For now, however, Eisdorfer is delighted that her students “smashed it” with their “Hurricane” dance. For her and her students, all of whom watched Golan perform at Eurovision, the icing on the cake would be for Golan herself to see it.

With Eisdorfer’s infectious personality and love of dance, whatever she does, she’s certain to bring joy to those who take her classes. “The greatest gift a teacher can give a student is the joy of something,” she gushed.

And she certainly spreads joy far and wide with her love of dance. ■

To learn more about Dancing with Dorothy or to watch the ‘Hurricane’ performance, visit the Instagram page: @dancing_with_dorothy

Dorothy Eisdorfer

From New York

To Ra’anana, 2012