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GA conference / Dancing the GA Next Gen Day away By Raphael Ahren For most Israelis, the machinations of a secular Jerusalem dance troupe are nothing to write home about. But for the participants of yesterday's Next Gen Day, the all-day conference that preceded the opening of the United Jewish Communities' General Assembly, their morning of exploration seemed barely short of a revelation. Advertisement "It was certainly unexpected," said Mikhael Kogan, 19, of Chicago. "I really didn't think we would come to this conference and learn about Jerusalem's dance culture. It's not something you do every day." Kogan, who is currently in Israel on a 5-month MASA program, was one 800 young adults from North America and Israel who participated in the conference, the first time the UJC has dedicated an entire day specifically to the future leaders of the Jewish community. After the conference kicked off the morning at Yad Vashem, where Mark Wilf and Edgar Bronfman, GA co-chair and co-sponsor respectively, addressed the attendees, the young adults split up in 19 different groups to visit different sites in Jerusalem. Kogan and abut 30 other future leaders boarded bus number 14 not knowing where it would take them. According to the organizers, the field trips would be "related to Jewish History, tikkun olam, modern Israeli society and Jewish peoplehood." Arriving at the Kolben dance Studio in the capital's Nachlaot neighborhood, the participants watched a 15-minute rehearsal of a soon-to-be-staged performance by a local jazz dance group. "When I was watching the dance, I was really impressed that the people who organized the Next Gen Day thought it was important for us to see a dance performance," said Lisa Stella, of Wisconsin, after the show. "I actually think it's really important. At conferences, people speak a lot, but it's also important to see things being done." Ele Watts, of Davis, California, was also surprised by the organizers' choice of venue. "It inspired me to move my body that way," the 22-year-old said. Watts studied environmental studies in the United States and now works for a project dealing with sustainable agriculture near Modi'in. "I live on a farm, where we don't make many motions like that. So that was really inspirational." After the performance, the young men and women were addressed by the founders of the Lev Ha'ir Community Administration, which supports young Jerusalem artists. The activists complained about the dearth of venues and funding for poets and dancers in the city. Returning to the Binyanei Haumah conference center with the other groups for a discussion of what they had seen and learned during their trips, Rachel Azaria spoke about her founding of the new Hitorerut-Yerushalmim (Wake up Jerusalemites) party. She said the success of her list, which captured two city council seats in the recent local elections, should remind the group that sometimes young leaders can be successful against all odds. "Never underestimate the strength of the new generation," Azaria said. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Crime boss killed Ya'akov Alperon was killed just after his son was indicted for alleged murder attempt Peres at GA, Jerusalem Peres stresses that strong U.S. Israeli ties will not change under Obama's administration

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