Neve Hanna: We Will Dance Again!

Following the October 7th Nova Music Festival, a concert for peace that was cut short by the horrific terrorist attack, there was a need for all of Israel to dance again. The Jewish people love to dance, foster and build community, and come together for spiritual, social, and cultural celebrations. They dance to express unity and individuality, their peoplehood and creativity.

Simply put, the Jewish people dance to celebrate life!

Neve Hanna Youth Council. Photo: Staff.

At Neve Hanna, the new Youth Council is involved in the decision-making for the educational and cultural programs brought to the children. And so this year, the children have chosen Hip-Hop!

In the aftermath of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and these challenging times, our children can heal by turning to music, and dance to work through their emotions and uniquely channel their experiences through movement and sound, especially when words might not be readily available. 

American Friends of Neve Hanna is proud to announce and introduce the Anna Ullmann Hip-Hop Program – we honor the memory of Anna Ullmann, z”l, daughter-in-law of Neve Hanna founder, Hanni Ullmann, z”l.

Anna Ullmann was a very special and vibrant person who had a zest for life that was apparent in everything she did. Anna loved her friends and family and always tried to provide a positive take on things. We are grateful for her presence in our lives and wanted to honor her memory by sponsoring a program that really is meaningful to the Neve Hanna children and provides a positive impact during their formative years.  

Anna Ullmann Hip-Hop Program. Photo: Neve Hanna Staff.

The new Hip-Hop program will be for all of the children at Neve Hanna. The sessions will be educational, therapeutic, and creative and involve a variety of activities such as rapping, dance, and beatboxing.

• Health benefits: great for dance, and exercise, helps relieve stress, reduce depression and anxiety, and builds a sense of community.
• Self-expression: allows the children to express emotions, connect, feel empowered, and resilient.
• Creative outlet: dance allows for creative exploration, enabling children to interpret their experiences uniquely. 
• A “voice”: will provide a platform for underrepresented voices to express and share their experiences, and promote social change.
• Non-verbal expression: when children struggle to articulate their feelings, dance can provide a safe space to express emotions through body movement. 
• Self-awareness: through dance, our children can become more mindful of their emotions and learn to identify how their bodies respond to different feelings. 

At Neve Hanna, we interviewed several instructors, and in the end, selected Mor, a wonderful dance instructor to teach Hip-Hop. Following the army, she graduated from the Ran Cohen School for Dance in Kiryat Gat.

Mor comes in once a week and teaches from 4 to 7 pm.

• The first hour is for children from the Daycare Centers, a total of 20 kids, ages 7 to 12 years old.
• In the second hour, Mor teaches the younger children of Neve Hanna, which accounts for 15 participants.
• In the third hour, the children involved in our performance group will participate. They perform throughout the year on different occasions, like Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, the final part of the school year, and much more. A total of 6 children participate in specialized lessons with the dance instructor.

Neve Hanna Children’s Home strives to meet all the physical, emotional, mental, and educational needs of its children by enriching them with a wide variety of individualized therapeutic programs, projects, and extracurricular activities including the joy of music and dance. 

Throughout her life, Anna Ullmann cherished celebrations as pivotal moments of joy and connection. During her time in Israel, Anna took up Israeli Folk Dancing. Additionally, in keeping with the Greek traditions, Anna loved Bouzouki music and would partake in Greek line dancing with party guests and break plates for good luck. Anna was always eager to take to the dance floor, whether at her children’s Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, their weddings, or any other celebration. Anna’s radiant presence made every celebration memorable. Dance was always a big part of the Ullmann family so when the Neve Hanna Children’s Counsel voted to have Hip-Hop classes as part of the therapeutic services offered at the Children’s Home, it seemed like the perfect program to honor Anna’s memory.

Read Anna Ullmann’s bio and learn about this incredible woman.

Let’s build something together. Learn more about the Anna Ullmann Hip-Hop Program.

Please visit us at www.afnevehanna.org to learn more about our children, the programs and projects that we continue to establish, and get the current news on Neve Hanna Children’s Home.