With a confirmed enrollment of over 2000 participants, NCSY Summer is hopefully leading us to the “light at the end of the tunnel.” According to David Cutler, director of NCSY Summer Programs, and co-chairs Miriam Pfeiffer of Teaneck and Elizabeth Kurtz of The Five Towns, NCSY Summer magic accompanies its beneficiaries all year long with lasting memories and inspiration. According to Pfeiffer, “Summer 2021 may be our biggest summer to date.”
Fortunately, there is a group of young ladies, aged 10 to 15, currently in grades 5 through 10, who will be able to experience the NCSY magic as early as this Spring 2021 through “NCSY Elevate.” A creative dance program, “Elevate” was created and directed by Elisheva Rubin of Fair Lawn, under the rubric of NCSY. The fall 2020 program was so successful that an appeal was made to continue on in the spring. No sooner was it advertised than the limited slots were filled. To begin early in February, the three classes, grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-10, with up to 12 girls in each group, will adhere to masking and social-distancing regulations. Each group will be considered its own cluster and will remain separate from the others. The sessions will meet on Monday evenings at Dance Dimensions, a state-of-the-art professional dance studio located on River Road in New Milford. (The program is not to be confused with “Meorot,” which traditionally culminates in a gala production that unfortunately was tabled this year because of COVID-19.)
Rubin has worked closely alongside NCSY in drafting program proposals that add a spiritual dimension and vitality to the organization’s offerings. Rubin attended RYNJ and Bruriah, and spent her gap year at Michlalah. She graduated with a BA from Touro College for Women and is currently pursuing a master’s at Touro College’s Graduate School of Social Work. Additionally, she is interning at Achieve Behavioral Health in Monsey, a well-regarded mental health facility catering to the Jewish community. Rubin enjoys developing, curating and directing youth programming with a spiritual, social and emotional (SEL) focus. She sees “Elevate” as a program that promotes all three elements. She makes time in her busy schedule to address a young leadership program at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Englewood.
A lover and serious practitioner of dance, Rubin well understands the conflicts and confusion often confronting frum girls with a passion for dance. Social media often lures dance aficionados into areas of dance that are not appropriate to their lifestyles and values. That is one reason for calling her program “Elevate.” She stated, “It is rare to find an appropriate performance outlet for Jewish young women to freely express themselves. ‘NCSY Elevate’ provides a warm, peer- supported, role-model led space while simultaneously offering authentic dance training. We have the ability to fuse both without mimicking secular society, rather innovating, using the power of Jewish legacy…Our dancers will be made aware that their steps in the studio with NCSY will influence their future steps for the better.”
“When bringing my program proposal to Mr. Cutler, I shared that our mission is to continue NCSY Summer throughout the whole year, blending mega entertainment and the acknowledgment that we are a part of, and supported by, team Klal Yisrael,” added Rubin.
‘NCSY Elevate’ is a 12-week program that will incorporate a vast range of technical training, while allowing for creativity. The program aims to improve self-esteem and enhance the physical well-being of the participants, as well as encourage new friendships.
To learn more about the program, contact Elisheva Rubin at [email protected].
By Pearl Markovitz
