Torah Trope, Tango and Israeli Dancing - 060511

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge. Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. ~ Confucius
What is the secret to being a successful communicator? Honesty, sincerity and integrity. Once you have learned to fake those things, you have it made. ~ John Darling, comic strip talk show host
Fake it until you make it. ~ Common saying

Erin, myself and a couple others have been taking Libby Brateman's Torah Trope class. All the people in class are going to read from the Torah at the end of May. You are all invited.

Erin is a beautiful singer and the class is a piece of cake for her. Erin never practises and sight sings her portion perfectly in class.

I on the other hand, memorized my Torah portion the first week, but in class, I cannot get through two words without Libby stopping me.

Libby is very picky. If you do not hit the right notes, she stops you.

Now I know all the trope. I know what the notes are for each trope, and I know exactly where each trope and accent goes on every word in my Torah portion.

The problem is, as far as the notes are concerned, what comes out of mouth is completely random.

So, I will sing "Ooh ah" and Libby will sing out "Oh ah ooh". Then I will sing "Ah uh"? And she will sing "Oh ah ooh" again. Then I will sing "Uh oh", and she throws her cup of coffee at me. It is sad.

My Tango class is similar. In Tango, you are plastered up against your partner, so there is no room for error. My teacher is a lot like Libby, very sweet, and very tough, in a nice way. If you are doing it wrong, she will not let you move her.

I love that they are both so picky, because I want to learn how to do these things and not fake my way through.

In Israeli Dancing, we encourage you to do the opposite, fake your way through, until you catch on.

Unlike reading the Torah and Argentine Tango, Israeli Dancing is forgiving and there is plenty of room for error. Just enjoy.

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