环球英语 — 635：Exploring Culture Through Dance

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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.

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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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In Jerusalem, Israel, a woman stands in front of a crowd. She smiles. Her dark hair is very long. It hangs past her waist. She is wearing brightly colored clothes. She raises her hands above her head. Music begins to play. A man sings a beautiful song in Arabic. The woman begins to turn around and around. Her clothes are flowing out around her. Her hair floats in the air as she turns around faster and faster. The people in the crowd are smiling. They begin to clap their hands to the music.

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The woman's name is Miriam Peretz. She is performing a dance from Afghanistan. Peretz is not from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a mainly Muslim country. But Peretz is not Muslim either. In fact, Peretz is Jewish and she was born in Israel. Today's Spotlight is on Miriam Peretz and her efforts as an ambassador of culture through dance.

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Almost every culture has its own special dances. People use dancing for many important events like naming children, getting married, or even going to war. Dance can help people mourn, or celebrate. It can help people worship. It can also re-tell the stories of history. Peretz believes there is a reason for this. On her website, she writes,

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"Dance expresses the deepest parts of our being in a way no words or book could ever do."

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Miriam Peretz first started dancing at age 13 or 14. Her father is from Morocco. So Peretz decided to learn dances from the Middle East. She writes on her website,

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"My love of dance and movement has led me on a life-long journey through many different lands and cultures."

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Since then, Peretz has studied dance and culture in countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, and Israel. She has become an expert on many dances. But she does not just study and write about dance. She also performs these dances in many places around the world!

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Quicker communication and travel have made it easier to connect with people all over the world. It is easier to share music, literature, and dance across cultures. It can feel like the world is getting smaller. But in this process, some people feel like they are losing their cultures and their traditions. However, Peretz believes that by sharing cultural dances, she can help keep traditional cultures alive. She told Jimena, a Jewish organization from the Middle East,

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"I feel like I have a job as an ambassador of culture through dance."

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There is one culture in particular that is in danger of losing its traditions. This is the Roma culture. Roma people came from northern India thousands of years ago. They now live in many countries in Europe. Roma people are also called Gypsies. Gypsies do not settle; they are nomads. They move around to different places, and they do not become a fixed part of any other culture. Peretz writes,

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"The Roma are a people united in their love for freedom."

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At university, Peretz completed a study of Roma dance. She made a special effort to study and perform Roma dances. As part of this study, she wrote,

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"My hope is that people will understand and value the artistic gift that the Roma people have given the dance world."

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Through Miriam Peretz's dance performances, many people have seen the beauty of Roma culture. Traditional Roma clothing is beautiful. It is made with bright colors and flowing cloth. The dances are playful. They show the Roma desire for freedom. In one dance, Peretz uses wine glasses turned over on the ground. She balances on top of these glasses. In another dance, she throws a bright cloth in the air and dances around it.

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Miriam Peretz wants to do more than just keep cultures alive. She also wants to help heal hurt between cultures. Peretz lived in Israel for 10 years. On her website, she describes the hurt and anger between people of different religions.

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"During the ten years I lived in Israel/Palestine, I saw the effect of people who did not trust each other. This effect was like poison."

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This made Miriam Peretz very sad. But she believed that dance could help.

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Peretz decided to design and perform a dance that would bring together the three main religions in Jerusalem: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The dance connects the stories of three women named Miriam, Maryam, and Mary. One woman from each of the three religions. Peretz called the dance "Miriam's Well." She writes,

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"'Miriam's Well' comes from a deep sadness. . . This pain has grown in my heart from seeing broken relationships between people because of their different religions. My hope is that this dance will show the common ground of these three traditions, offering a path for healing."

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The name Miriam's Well is from a Jewish legend. No one knows if this story is true or not. The legend says that a well provided water for the Israelites in the desert. The well followed the Israelites every place they went. They called this well "Miriam's Well." But a well is a special religious symbol to all three religions in the Middle East. For Muslims and Christians, Jerusalem and Nazareth are special cities. In both cities there is a well called "Mary's Well." So Peretz feels that the name of her dance connects to all three religions.

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For Miriam Peretz, the three religions share the same Creator God. The well in the dance is a symbol of the Creator God's love. In the dance, all three women dance with containers. They place these containers into the well to get water. Then they bow down in worship.

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Peretz also believes the well is important because water is a common reason for fighting. Her dance changes water into a reason for healing. She writes,

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"The small amount of water in the Middle-East has become a serious crisis. It could be even worse than fighting over religion and land. The very basic need to share water brings us together. For if we do not learn to share, the well will soon run dry."

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Miriam Peretz has given her life to dance. Her interest in Roma cultural dances expresses her desire to help people remember traditional culture. Her dance "Miriam's Well" expresses her desire to help people remember that they have more in common than they think. For Peretz, dance will always be a way of expressing what is deep in her heart without using words.