ISRAELI DANCE & ROBIN STARR (OF THE DIFFERENT SOCKS DANCE COMPANY)

HALLELUYA - (2004) - CIRCLE

. Since "praise" - Halleluya -  is the recurring word, I created my own "praise" combination step for this dance- a step sweep with hand moving upwards. The chorus has two "praise" steps. The first verse is straightforward - "praise" in ( ... in The Lord's Sanctuary) and "praise" out. The second verse uses a more oblique reference -  the pivot to the centre during this verse is done with knees bent and head bowed, signifying reverence or awe for "mighty acts...surpassing greatness". In the third verse, I chose "shofar blast". The position of the hands during the yemenite steps is that of the hand holding the blowing end of the shofar to the lips. "Dance" is the focus of the fourth verse. The elements in this verse have been done in previous verses, but in this verse, they are adorned by being done in a much more expressive manner. The fifth verse focuses on "cymbals sounding.....cymbals resounding ", so the movement of the hands is of cymbals being gently clashed. Note that at the point of clashing, the cymbals sound in the music. The round at the end contains a last "praise" reference.

The music was done by my son Simon - all vocal and instrumental tracks. We had a number of discussions about  the arrangement, and I sent a few emails as I had specific requirements -  for instance, for the round at the end, I asked for a "Beatles/Beach Boys/10cc wall of sound". The final recording far exceeded my expectations.  I have trouble doing the dance to Simon's music as I am so busy trying to sing all the harmonies simultaneously that I lose myself in the music and forget where I'm up to in the dance!

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