Original subtitles

My belief is that when a human being

dances with another human being something happens.

You get to know that person in a way that you can't describe.

That's our house.

I was born in Jaffa in 1944,

but we left when I was four years old.

I did not go to university, but I became a world champion as far as the dancing

is concerned.

And what I can give back in life to children is ballroom dancing.

Hello, my name is Pierre, and I'm here to work with the children.

Thank you.

I've been teaching children in America for over 30 years, but I have never

done anything for my own community where I have come from.

I want to come back here and give something good to the children.

This has more meaning to me personally than anything else I've ever done in my

life.

Have any of you taken ballroom dancing lessons?

No. The program is 10 weeks as a rule,

and we come to the school two times a week.

But the raison d 'être, the real reason I am here, is that...

A third time a week, this is where, please, I'd like to ask you, your

help.

We need to have your children dance with children from another school.

Palestinian and Jewish children together.

As far as religion or Islam is concerned, our

religion does not allow children to dance with a girl, even though they are

children. But I feel that this is a bit difficult because I personally do not

accept the idea.

Yes, that's right.

Respect. Respect.

That's it.

If I want to teach you the head of the foreigners, the head of Thessalonians, I

have to teach you the right thing.

When you touch someone with respect.

I have to remember that it's not easy for them.

What I'm asking them to do is to dance with the enemy.

Nobody uses that word outright.

But underneath, I know such words exist in their brain.

This is not good.

Ballroom dancing is a boy and a girl, a lady and a gentleman.

And this we all understood.

So... No, I'm sorry, I can't do it. I'm really sorry.

I am here to teach you dancing.

But the big problem is you have to dance together.

And not boys and boys.

Or girls and girls.

What do you mean yak? What did you say?

Yak.

Repeat. After me, gentlemen.

May I have this dance, please?

May I have this dance, please? Now do it with your hands. May I have... I'm in

two Jewish schools. Slowly.

May I have... May I have... Two completely... Arab

schools.

And one school like a mixture of Jewish children

and Arab children.

And the ladies, Olu, with pleasure.

With pleasure.

Now do it with your hands.

Watch,

listen.

May I have this dance, please?

Thank you very much. No, no. Excuse me.

He was very polite. Let's go.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is very difficult for you at the moment.

But this is how you learn to work with another person.

My mother... sometimes it's hard for her.

Like, she's solved so much work.

She used to work in... In cleaning.

In general.

My mother was Jewish and she was a Muslim.

My father died.

When I was in first grade.

It's hard for me, dad.

I have a dream.

That my father will return.

That my father will return to life.

If you want, if you can't do it like this,

I'll do it now.

Come on. Quick, quick. Five, four, three, two.

Turn it around, come on. Turn it big.

Stop,

stop, stop.

Hello!

Hello!

Sit down.

Come on. It's still wrong.

Ridiculous.

I think we're going to cancel the tour.

I really do.

Okay, we have to cut it. Anyway, but thank you.

I cannot fail.

I cannot fail.

I so much want to succeed.

I'm hoping, hope against hope, that I can get these children together who have

been enemies for so long.

I know it's going to be very, very difficult.

How are you?

Sit down, please.

Do you know that I was born here?

I was born in a house 300 meters from here.

When I was little,

I used to laugh a lot.

I was half a year old.

And I speak English with Arabic grammar.

The kids in school used to joke with me. It wasn't very good.

But when I learned the script, I do this now.

Please.

Listen. Do this.

You can change it.

Like this.

I swear I don't want to. Come on.

Please. Come on.

Excuse me. But together.

Like this. Come on.

Like this.

Come on.

What are you going to do with the fish?

I'm going to feed them to my father.

If you plant this, it will grow.

What? The light.

May I please?

Mishon. Mishon. Come on,

baby.

What does that mean?

Jewish? Arab?

What do you know about him?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Jewish? I think you're wrong.

He's Arab.

No, he's not Arab.

Arab is a religion.

A Muslim is a religion. A Muslim is a religion. No, no. It's Arab.

Arab is a... Yes and no.

Yes.

I'm wondering if there is a boy that I can have to come and dance with

Madame Nour.

Would he want to stand?

Because I need a tall boy, whatever. Come here.

Very good.

No.

No.

He doesn't want.

Okay, that's fine. Would he want to stand?

No.

I'm not going to pull.

Why?

Okay, ladies and gentlemen. This here is like bread.

And this is the butter.

The bread is now cooked.

It burned.

And it's hard.

And when it's hard, it can now stand up.

Elbows together.

Elbows together.

Excuse me. Hello.

Hello. What is this? What is this?

What is this?

But I understand it's very difficult, but it is not a

program only for the step

At the beginning, one walks like this.

Two months later, six months later, a

year later,

and this is what

stays with them.

What are you doing here?

I was born here, and my mother is Palestinian, and my father was Irish,

British. And my dream from a long time really was to teach the Israeli

-Palestinian children and the Israeli -Jewish children to dance together.

It is not a problem that the Arabic children and the Jewish children

dance together, because I know that we have a lot of problems between us.

I am not here with politics, but this is how they feel.

And you cannot change a person's feeling because before 1948 it was their place.

And you can say yes or no, you can say whatever you like.

But because I was born here and I felt very sorry for my parents who had to

schlep three children when people had guns at our backs.

So we lost our home, you know, for the creation of Israel.

And so whether one likes it or not, that is reality.

You're not going to go away.

The Palestinian people are not going to go away. Now, how do we make it better?

And this is the reason for me starting with the children with just five

Now, will I be successful 10 years from now? I don't know.

It cannot be possible because when you go to the army, okay, I lost.

four of my best friends in Gaza.

And it's not that we go to fight or something.

I don't know. I know that I cannot trust anybody.

I cannot believe what they say. And I'm sure that I don't want to dance with

them. In ballroom dancing, there has to be a certain amount of trust.

And slowly they learn to trust.

If you start with a child, with a child at 9, 10, 11 years old, and

somehow they learn to respect themselves first, and then they

can respect other people as they're growing up, this is my hope.

This is my hope.

For a moment, Jaffa looked today like a dead end street in Hebron, empty of

residents, but full of security forces.

Everyone was prepared for this bus, from which about 60 people died.

This time, the leaders of the Arab public in the city are really angry.

call on the young people not to respond in violence.

to a real democracy.

In fact, it's the use of demonstrations.

I ask you, my friends, a demonstration is good.

What if we throw stones at a demonstration?

What?

Very good.

What?

If you come, you'll always be helped. If you come, you'll always be helped?

Okay?

This side of war, this side of pain.

Thank God.

How are you, darling?

I'm fine.

How are you?

I'm fine.

Good good Very

good

for us today.

I want you to see

Video of people dancing

35

years a long time

Thank you.

Hello, come on. Jalal, how are you?

He's my neighbor.

Say hello in English.

Hello, Miss Yvonne.

Hello, Miss Yvonne.

Welcome

to

Yaffo, the city of my birth.

I'm so glad you're here.

I thought I was really hot stuff, coming here thinking I can do it, but I met so

much resistance.

I just need help. I need your help.

Who is it? One of your kids?

Yeah. Hello.

How are you?

What do young people do? I mean, this young boy, what chance does he have?

He lives, you should see where he lives. He lives in a shack.

They live in a shack.

Five, six, seven children in one room, maybe two rooms.

What do young people do, Yvonne?

What do young people do?

You see that red brick?

The balcony?

That's our house.

These three houses, for instance, my claim would be just the middle part, you

know, and that would cause a lot of problems.

I mean, I could claim all of them, I suppose.

Even more problems. No, no, no, forget it, forget it, forget it. But there are

people living here, the whole family lives here, another family lives here.

Yes. Of course.

We were just here talking to the new homeowner.

What?

Supposedly a new homeowner, the person that lives here.

Not Riyadh? They feel very threatened.

Riyadh. They don't really want... He's a new homeowner? He's been here for 50

years. I'm calling him a new homeowner because you're the real homeowner. Come

on, doesn't matter. He feels very threatened and he doesn't really want to

to us.

Okay,

can we just go up to the roof where I can show Yvonne?

from the roof because I have photograph of me as a child on the roof. I'll

explain that to him. Please do, if you can. If you can, yes, of course.

Wow,

it makes me blood boil now.

I'm sorry,

I think it's a good idea we leave now.

Okay, fine.

You want to go this way or that way?

Let's go this way.

Let's go this way.

Anywhere is good, but not here. Okay, fine.

So what's the issue here? Are they going to shoot us or what? I don't know.

No, he's going to shoot us.

Yeah,

this

is all me.

So were you about to eat target practice?

What happened now?

It was fairly closed. Okay.

Do you hear that?

Yeah.

You know what it is? What is that? Can you make it out? No, I can't make it

He's calling people to come out for the demonstration today.

Ah, yeah, okay.

You know what day it is? The land day. Yeah, the land day.

Miss Yvonne.

Hello.

Yes, of course. I understand.

Of course. Thank you so much. No, no, that's all.

Don't worry. Please, don't worry.

I mean, that tells you a lot about the culture. You won't shake hands. How are

you going to get a dance ring?

Miss Yvonne.

Miss Yvonne.

Miss Yvonne.

Miss Yvonne.

Miss Yvonne. Miss Yvonne.

Miss Yvonne. Ladies

and gentlemen, burqasuna abad.

Oh No, good morning to miss Yvonne

I got my man Who could ask for anything more?

I know how they look now.

35 years, we still know each other.

And we're not married.

Oh my God.

We don't have to get married.

No, this is for sure.

Together. Elbows must be together.

Please go.

One, two, three, four, five, six. Three, six, nine,

again.

You can kiss us. You want to kiss Noura Hamouda. Come on, let's go.

Noura, I wanted to tell you in a way that you're too hurt, you're too upset,

you're hitting your head, until it really comes to you to kill us, to come

eat us like a sandwich.

You also lose the little ones.

Do you know what it means to lose the little ones?

Just suddenly...

I can't help you in this situation that you're in, in this big mess.

And I know that you're not a violent child, and you're not a child who wants

things for others.

The only question is how you do it.

I'm the only one who has a father.

I'm the only one.

Mom?

Good morning, Noor.

Ladies and gentlemen, come on.

Please stand for the lady.

Get together.

Five, six.

Please go.

One, two.

One, two.

One,

two. One, two.

Three.

Five, six.

Ready, go.

One, two.

Boom, boom.

Very good rhythm. Doesn't she?

Yeah, I know.

Yeah,

right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Unique. Oui.

Oui.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll see you.

Lovely dancing with you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh,

I love you too.

Sweet.

Sad now.

Yeah? To go.

I mean, I wish I was coming back to see the competition and to see what actually

happens at the end.

So, you know, you have different communities here.

Do you approach them differently, do you think?

You know, it's a good question, honestly.

I think the question is deeper.

There's a kinship, I feel, for the Palestinian -Israeli, Israeli

children.

Because I want for them what I want. Do I have the right?

to want for them. Am I a parent to them? No. But I'm putting myself as such.

I would like to give them the choice to better themselves.

Today, I am asking you to do something very difficult.

We're going to be dancing with kids from the Arab school.

Other children from another school.

We will have a competition at the end, and then we'll give gold medals, silver,

bronze.

How many of them would like to dance in the competition?

Good.

Tic -tac.

Now you will have to dance with your sons.

Sister, sister.

I don't know her either. In school.

In school, we heard about him.

You have to dance with your sons. We don't have to dance with them.

My mother is scared.

My mother will see me with a lot of people. She will love me.

She will love me.

It's the very first time I'm bringing the children together.

I'm nervous, I'm apprehensive.

How can I get a Jewish boy to stand next to an Arab girl?

Come over here.

Hello.

Stop.

Yeah. No. Keep them outside for a moment. I want to speak to them.

Okay. Please stay here.

I'm going to speak to the children of Akbar.

Please.

Okay.

Okay.

And I have Lois and Ala from here. Lois and Ala.

And I have David and Hiba.

I'm waiting.

I'm waiting.

5, 6, merengue, go!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, banone!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, again we go! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, again

we go! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, again we go!

Let's go.

. . . . .

.

Please, Omar, come here with him.

Introduce yourself.

Go.

No,

no.

Then you can go.

May

I

have this?

Please Come over here, please

Did you see a Jew?

I saw him, but I didn't go to school.

Did you talk to him?

No.

Wait, wait, wait.

There was one girl with another boy that I don't want to talk to because she's

Jewish. What?

Yes, so I was thinking of talking to him, but I would need a... Is this one

your boys or one of our boys? No, no, one of Ajia's boys. Ajia and one of our

girls.

Listen to me.

I don't want to hear Jews, Arabs, Arabs, Jews.

This is the same thing.

First of all, be

human.

First of all...

Okay?

Today, the state of Israel is honoring the memory of 22 ,867 people

who fell on it in Israeli institutions and in terrorist activities.

We are standing nicely.

And we are standing nicely.

We are giving them honor.

The Jews don't use slavery,

they use slavery.

Do you understand?

We're the first people, but if we cross the border, we're done. We went to

Texas, we went to Gaza, nothing else.

When we cross the border, we're worried.

I'm not sure.

Oh my God.

Thank you.

Good. Now, what is this music?

So for rumba, one,

two, three.

Watch.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,

12. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Six, seven, go.

Quick, quick, slow.

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and yes!

Bravo!

Listen, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, no one is going home.

You will stay with me, we will do this again, and then you will go home.

Clear?

Aegean and democratic.

Today, I am going to tell you who's going to be

in the competition.

Let me tell you.

500 people will be there. We want elegante, elegante, elegante.

For the orange team.

Okay. Simon.

Angel.

Mona.

Six girls from Hashmanayim will dance with six

gentlemen from Achba.

Miss Lois.

Miss Yulia.

Miss

Miss Offit.

I am very sorry. I cannot take all of you to dance.

I

told

Miss Etty.

Very very difficult for me To say yeah. No. Yeah. No. No. Yes.

I only have

Do you

like

someone? No

No. If he comes here, I don't know her.

She's like a different girl.

You know, at the beginning of the year, she was like a closed flower.

Closed flower.

And now she's like this. Opening up. Yes.

Oh.

Mr.

Pierre, I love you.

No. No,

we can't.

I'm more confident that we'll be able to move forward

here without feeling anything.

Where is your father?

I never took him.

My mother took me in a bad way.

Do you know what a bad way is? What?

Yes, there.

The boys come there and they sing the...

What? I don't know how to explain it.

Hello.

I was looking for a husband, but he didn't come.

But I had children, so what, I'll be without children? No. I went, there's a

bank that takes a man's, a son's, they take a bank, and they put it in my

body. And then they're not born.

Okay, now.

Once we start dancing, you cannot go to the toilet. You cannot go and have a

shrubby drink.

Once you start dancing, that's it.

Tango.

Five, six, yalla, go.

T. A.

N. G. O.

T. A.

Three. One. Two.

Three. Rock. Rock. Four. Rock. Rock.

N. G. O.

One. Two.

Three. Rock. Rock.

Four. Rock. Rock. N. G. O.

Very nice.

One, two,

three, four, five.

One, two, three, four, five.

One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four,

five.

Three, four, five.

And that's to beat him, you know.

One, two, three, four, five.

I'm sorry, I didn't know which house you were in.

Thank you for the invitation.

You're welcome.

And here's a tree, that's my tree.

Here we

play

football.

Here's the other one.

Here's the other one.

Here's

the

other one.

Oh, my dear.

Here's the Mersa.

Oh,

my dear. Here's the Mersa.

Did you see what I did?

Nice, did you hear?

He's an Arab boy, right?

Yes. How was it?

It's just like a date.

Is it a date?

No, it's not a date.

Girls,

girls.

Hi.

Hi. What does it sound like?

How did you feel?

Fun.

Really?

I came to see you, I... Of course!

You were so excited.

Pressure, like in a birth star. Yes.

You did everything by yourself.

Is that your strength?

Are you moving?

Not really.

Why not?

Are you scared?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have done so many colors of the Limbo team matches.

nevertheless i am let me say i am positively apprehensive nervous

i'm scared i'm scared

The Palestinian Israelis and the Israeli Jewish boys and girls dancing together.

Now, please welcome the judges.

Now, gentlemen, please stand up.

When we succeed this,

actually happening in reality.

A Jewish person dancing with an Arab person.

Muslim parents sitting next to the Jewish parents.

If I was not the MC, I would be

fired.

The beginning was very shy.

Do you feel better now?

Yes.

And who can tell me the most important thing you learned?

To trust one another. Wow.

Now I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you so that

tomorrow... I will tell you... I

hope you return safe.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Oh, come on.

Hello. Hello.

Five, six, yalla, go!

Thank you very much.

Boy, you're going to be a boy.

Boy, you're going to be a boy.

Boy, you're going to be a boy.

Counting one, two, three, two, two, three. You and me, I'd be so.

1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, you and me will among Will you

dance with me through the

1, 2, 3, 2, 3, you and me still alive.

Will you dance with me through the years As the seasons turn

alive Will you dance with me through the fears As

the days pass quickly Much too quickly

Much too quickly One, two, three, two, three, you

and me still alive

1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3 When you're still alive 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3

When you're still alive

Will you dance with me?

He's still alive.