When speaking with Miri Akuni, it is difficult to distinguish between the dance instructor, educator, entrepreneur, administrator, and cultural advocate. For four decades she has worked in the world of Israeli folk dance in nearly every imaginable role: children’s instructor, adult dance leader, organizer of senior dance programs, instructor trainer, educational entrepreneur, director of teaching teams, event producer, organizational partner in festivals and dance camps, and even a radio and media personality.

This year she marks forty consecutive years of professional activity in the field. Looking back, her career reveals an extraordinary breadth of accomplishments. Yet perhaps most striking is that, after four decades, she still speaks about her work with the enthusiasm of someone just beginning.

“I absolutely love my work,” she says. “I’ve been in this profession for forty years, and I still wake up every morning excited to do more.”

Childhood on a Kibbutz and Her First Encounter with Dance

Miri grew up on Kibbutz Palmachim during the 1970s and 1980s – a kibbutz in the fullest traditional sense, with communal education, an intensive community life, and a strong sense of belonging. “The old-style kibbutz,” as she describes it. Dance entered her life at a very young age. As a child she participated in various dance activities, and later she even taught volunteers who came to the kibbutz.

In those years, kibbutz culture was one of the principal centers of Israeli folk dancing. Young people participated in folk dance sessions, camps, and seminars, and dance was regarded as a natural part of education and social life.  While attending the regional high school at Givat Brenner, she chose dance as an academic subject as well. Her final research project examined the world of Israeli dance and the relationship between established professional dance companies and independent ensembles. Even at that stage, her interest in dance extended well beyond dancing itself.

Between 1980 and 1984, she participated in kibbutz youth folk dance camps and weekend programs led by Mishael Barzilay z”l, whom she regards as one of the formative influences at the beginning of her career. Each gathering brought together roughly one hundred to one hundred and fifty teenagers from kibbutzim across Israel. They arrived by train, bus, or hitchhiking, spending entire weekends dancing, learning, and getting to know one another. Barzilay regularly invited leading choreographers and instructors, exposing participants to the broader world of Israeli folk dance beyond the local communities in which they had grown up.

Entering the Teaching Profession

In 1987, at the age of twenty, Miri completed the Israeli folk dance instructors’ course at Beit Hamlin in Tel Aviv. From that moment onward, she says, she never worked in any other field. “From the very first day, I worked full-time.” Since then, she has earned her livelihood exclusively and independently through the world of dance – something relatively uncommon even among veteran folk dance instructors.

Miri’s professional career truly took off in Givatayim. Her days were filled from morning to night: teaching in schools during the mornings, working in after-school programs and dance classes at midday, leading activities in municipal educational frameworks during the afternoons, and conducting folk dance sessions in the evenings. “I lived Givatayim twenty-four hours a day,” she says.

At the time, the city was one of Israel’s foremost centers for children’s Israeli folk dance, thanks largely to the leadership of Itche Gil, who established an extensive dance education program throughout the school system. Miri taught in dozens of educational settings, produced end-of-year performances, and helped deliver dance programs that engaged thousands of children.

Here Miri notes that she introduced several innovations – for example, Shabbat dance sessions and partner dance workshops. Along with her work with children, she developed suitable programming for the older adult populations. Well before it became commonplace, she built programs for older adults and for senior day centers. Miri explains that working with a more senior population required a completely different professional approach than with children – for example, seated/chair dancing activities. For that purpose, she took specialized courses at the Wingate Institute and in other educational forums. As a rule, Miri Akuni’s career has been characterized by constant learning. In addition to the Israeli Folk Dance Instructor’s course, she completed courses in the areas of choreography, improvisation, aerobics, and movement classes for seniors.

The Radio Days

Miri even completed a course in radio broadcasting, announcing, and television presentation. This pursuit in the area of communication led her to work in that field. For five years, she presented two weekly radio programs on the local radio of Ramat Hasharon. One was called “The Women from Noga and the Men From Madim;” it dealt with societal and cultural matters while the second was devoted to Hebrew music, Israeli dance and folk dance. She explains that preparing a radio program is a complex task: research, locating interviewees, choosing music, writing and production. “It was enriching, it was an experience, but in the end, due to the heavy workload, I had to make a choice and leave the broadcasting field,” says Miri.

Miri’s eloquence, structured thinking, and organizational skills are evident even in the interview itself—as though she is interviewing herself, presenting her story in a carefully organized narrative.

“Dancing Blue and White – I Am an Israeli”

If there is one subject that Miri speaks about with unmistakable enthusiasm, it is the “Dancing Blue and White – I Am an Israeli” project. Without question, it has been the professional centerpiece of her work over the past fifteen years.

“After twenty-five years of doing everything – teaching in kindergartens, schools, working with adults, and leading folk dance sessions to the point of burnout – I decided it was time to change direction,” Miri recalls. “I changed my approach and began managing the ‘Blue and White Project.”’ She believes that today’s younger generation is growing up in a digital, globalized, and fast-paced environment, where traditional Israeli culture occupies an ever-smaller place. The project was created as a response to that reality. For Miri, Israeli folk dancing is far more than physical exercise; it is a vehicle for transmitting culture. “I truly believe that Hebrew song and Israeli dance are an integral part of our identity.”

Drawing on her decades of professional experience, Miri established a cultural and educational initiative which places great emphasis upon connecting children with Israeli dance and Hebrew song from an early age. Through participation in the program, children absorb educational and social values – including respect for others, cooperation, and mutual responsibility – while becoming immersed in Israel’s cultural heritage. At the same time, the project creates opportunities for children from all sectors of society to meet, dance together, and build shared experiences across social and cultural boundaries.

The project began about fifteen years ago in Herzliya with two instructors – Maya Geva and Victoria Atia. Today it has grown into a large educational enterprise employing approximately eighteen staff members and operating in partnership with six municipalities. Miri recalls: “The principal of Yuval School in Tel Aviv moved to head the elementary school department in Herzliya and suggested that we develop a project together. We began with eight or ten schools and first- and second-grade classes. At the end of the year, we held a major culminating event, and from there it simply kept expanding.”

The program was later introduced to Ra’anana through the efforts of Tova Netzer, then the municipality’s second-ranking official and an enthusiastic folk dancer herself, who insisted on bringing the “Blue and White” project to the city. Today the program operates in ten schools there and has expanded into kindergartens as well. In Holon, Miri explains, the project began this year in thirty-two municipal kindergartens, and further growth is expected because the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

How do you choose the material for the program?

Miri explains that the project is about far more than teaching dances. Each year she develops an educational curriculum built around carefully selected songs from the Hebrew songbook. Every song is evaluated diligently; that said, occasionally, pieces that have been used successfully for years are nevertheless removed from the repertoire.

She offers examples: “For years we used the children’s song Mr. Scatterbrained Hedgehog by Leah Naor and Nachum (Nach’che) Heiman. Then several kindergarten teachers pointed out a line that says, ‘Mr. Hedgehog was terribly afraid of Mrs. Hedgehog because he was so thin and she was so fat.’ They felt it raised concerns about body image, so we removed both the song and the accompanying dance from the program. Or, more recently, we decided not to use songs by Eyal Golan, and we also avoided the very popular song Tamid Ohev Oti (‘He Always Loves Me’) by Yosef Yair Elitzur and Rabbi Shalom Arush, because in some communities it was perceived as introducing religious messaging into the schools.”

At the same time, new material is continually added. “This year we introduced two songs: ‘Chai – Alive’ by Ehud Manor and Avi Toledano, and ‘Le’Chayei Ha’Am Hazeh – To the Life of This People’ by Haim Hefer and Dubi Zeltzer.” A typical annual kindergarten curriculum includes approximately twenty songs, and, as Miri puts it, “We’re constantly refining our repertoire.”

Miri has invested heavily in developing the project’s instructional staff. “We started with two instructors, then grew to four, and today we have about eighteen team members.” Every new instructor undergoes personal training before entering the classroom. Miri is unwilling to compromise on quality. “Working with children is a completely different art form.” She explains that success requires much more than simply knowing Israeli folk dances. Instructors must also know how to teach effectively, engage children, manage a classroom, and communicate educational values through movement.

Of all the municipalities where the project operates, Miri singles out Petah Tikva as an exceptional example. “The city adopted the program on a particularly broad scale.” According to Miri, Billy Ido, who oversees dance programs in the municipal Sports Department, was instrumental in bringing the project to the city, while Mayor Rami Greenberg has provided strong and consistent support. In Petah Tikva’s schools, students participate in ten sessions each year, during which they learn approximately twenty Israeli folk dances. The program culminates in a large citywide celebration attended by thousands of students, parents, and educators.

The initiative has since expanded beyond elementary schools to include kindergartens and special education programs. Miri considers Petah Tikva’s implementation “one of the most impressive models for integrating Israeli folk dance into a municipal education system. It is different when the enlistment is at a city level. In contrast, for example, in the Gefen program where school principals choose enrichment programs from a selection of 4,000 – our project gets lost among the many programs.”

I asked Miri whether she feels that her many years of educational work are creating a new generation of folk dancers. She admits that she has no hard data. “I don’t encounter many dancers who came through our programs as children,” she says. “You have to remember that I manage a team of instructors, so I don’t personally meet every child.” She believes, however, that this is not the most important measure of success. “Most people go through periods in life when they have less time for dancing. But our programs plant the seed of a connection to Israeli song and dance culture, making it more likely that they will return to it later.” For Miri, the lasting value lies in cultural familiarity rather than immediate participation. “A child who sings Israeli songs and dances to them in kindergarten will carry that experience for years afterward. Maybe they won’t attend a folk dance session at the age of twenty – but Israeli culture will be much more familiar to them.”

Dance Leaders, the Irgun, Dancers       

Although Miri generally avoids the politics of the Israeli folk dance world, she speaks candidly when the subject arises. During the 1990s, she was active for several years in the Irgun – the Association of Israeli Folk Dance Instructors and Choreographers. She served as chair of its Audit Committee and later became involved in documenting and registering newly choreographed dances. She recalls that dance registration had once been carried out manually by Eli Ronen before being computerized during the tenure of Gadi Bitton as chairman. Miri helped implement that new digital system. She was even encouraged to run for leadership of the Association, but after five years she decided to devote her energy to her own growing educational initiatives. Nevertheless, the experience gave her an insider’s understanding of how the organization functioned.

In Miri’s view, one of the greatest challenges facing Israeli folk dance today is the absence of an effective professional filtering process for the flood of emerging dances. In the past, she explains, there was an informal but highly effective system of quality control. Choreographers first presented new dances to leading professionals – including Yoav Ashriel z”l and Mishael Barzilay z”l, as well as Yehuda Emanuel, and others. Only a small number of those dances ultimately reached the national instructors’ workshops. “That created a professional filter.” Today, she says, the situation has changed completely. “Any choreographer can upload a dance to YouTube. Any instructor can teach it. The result is an overwhelming flood – hundreds of new dances every year, most of which disappear within a very short time.”

Miri also believes that many professional instructors’ workshops have gradually lost their original purpose. Instead of serving as forums for professional development, she argues, many have become little more than large public dance sessions. Active instructors, she believes, need a distinct professional framework where they can discuss issues such as repertoire selection, educational approaches, teaching methods, and the future direction of the field. “At a professional workshop, I don’t need to see my own dancers.” She also feels that the organization no longer distinguishes sufficiently between active instructors and the much larger number of people who completed an instructors’ course at some point but are no longer teaching. “I would separate the organization that serves active instructors from a friends’ association intended for everyone else. Active instructors need professional attention and specialized training. After that, you can organize activities for supporters of the organization as well. Apart from maintaining the dance registry, the organization doesn’t really carry out any substantial activity today – and that’s unfortunate.”

So, Who Shapes Israeli Folk Dance Today?

I asked Miri who, in her opinion, now sets the agenda in the world of Israeli folk dance. Where are the real centers of influence?

“In the past,” she says, “there were figures like Mishael Barzilay, Yoav Ashriel, and Israel Shiker.” Today, however, she believes that influence is much more decentralized. “The centers of power are now far more dispersed. Social media, YouTube, dance camps, and the leading dance instructors have created a new reality. Much of the influence over repertoire and public taste has shifted away from professional institutions and toward community leaders.”

I asked Miri about the ongoing discussion surrounding beginner dances and whether the traditional introductory repertoire still appeals to today’s young people. She considers this one of the most important conversations in the field. “Israeli folk dance is a language.” Just as language acquisition begins with simple vocabulary before progressing to more complex forms, she believes dancers need a carefully constructed foundation. Teaching only the newest or trendiest dances may generate short-term enthusiasm, but without a common core repertoire, dancers lose the shared vocabulary that enables them to participate confidently at dance events throughout the country; that said, Miri is not opposed to innovation. To the contrary, Miri believes the beginner repertoire should, therefore, continue to evolve, but it should do so thoughtfully, preserving the dances that have proved their educational and cultural value while gradually introducing new material. The problem is not the innovation itself, but rather the unchecked excess of material.

The Good People Along the Way

-You mentioned Mishael Barzilay at the beginning of our conversation. Who were some of the other people who were significant in your professional journey – people you might describe as mentors?

Gadi Bitton, in Miri’s opinion, is one of the most innovative people to have worked in the field. “He has ‘popcorn’ of creativity in his head,” she laughs. Although she does not agree with every one of his ideas, she deeply admires his willingness to innovate and push boundaries. “Some people agree with him, others don’t – but everyone imitates him. That tells you something.” She also highlights Yaron Carmel, whom she considers one of Israel’s most professional dance leaders. She praises his broad knowledge, his rapport with his dancers, and his ability to build a genuine community around his dance sessions.

She also mentions Shlomo Maman, Ori Yinon, and Avi Levy as individuals who have devoted years to building lasting cultural institutions and educational infrastructures. “Ori Yinon has ensured that Be’er Sheva has a dancing school – one of the very few places where an entire school participates in a municipal dance program.” Regarding Avi Levy, she emphasizes not only his impressive accomplishments as a choreographer and founder of the Ashdodance Festival, but especially his work establishing the city’s dance center and developing its performing ensembles. As for Shlomo Maman, she smiles and concludes: “There is really no need to say much about Shlomo Maman. His lifelong contribution to dance and culture speaks for itself – and it has always retained a certain innocence.”

Management, Dance, and Life

Looking at the scope of Miri’s activities—her educational work during the day, five weekly dance sessions at night (until recently), involvement in the production of the Karmiel Dance Festival and Gadi Bitton’s Camp BiTnu’a, as well as organizing dance tours abroad—it is easy to wonder whether she somehow has thirty hours in every day and ten days in every week.

“How do you manage it all? Do you see yourself primarily as a manager or as a dance professional?”

Miri smiles. “For twenty-five years I did everything. Management is simply the next stage of development. I’m a good manager because I first did the hard work—I earned my ten thousand steps before taking on leadership.” She explains that nothing in her career happened overnight. “I built something very large, but I built it gradually. Every year I take on just one additional project, establish it properly, build the instructional team, organize the schedules, make sure everything is functioning well—and only then I add another project. That’s how I grew while protecting both my professional standards and my reputation.” Today, she says, management occupies the center of her professional life. “The center of gravity today is management. But I still continue to influence the content itself.”

Although her managerial responsibilities have expanded, she continues to lead dance sessions herself, even though she has reduced their number from five evenings a week to three. She still teaches regularly at the Ramat Aviv Gimel Country Club, the Shazar Center in Givatayim, and Country Dekel, while balancing organizational work for festivals, dance camps, and international dance tours.

One principle has become especially important to her. “I limit collaborative projects to no more than twenty percent of my time. Once you go beyond twenty percent, you lose focus and balance.”

In the very year that Miri marks forty years of professional activity and celebrates her sixtieth birthday, another milestone transformed her personal life: the birth of her first granddaughter. Miri says that these days, every free moment not devoted to work is devoted to her family. “I hardly even attend folk dance evenings or dance marathons anymore.”

Conclusion

It was a pleasure to speak with Miri Akuni and to get to know her not only as a dance professional but also as a person. Our conversation revealed the remarkable breadth of her work, both professionally and organizationally, and the many areas in which she has innovated and broken new ground. The appreciation of others coupled with a critical perspective. Her eloquence, organizational skills, and constant search for equilibrium among the many “compartments” of her life. I hope you, too, have enjoyed this glimpse into her life, her accomplishments, and the person behind them.

Miri Akuni’s website: www.miriakuni.co.il