Israeli soldiers will soon have the option of serving in a military dance troupe.
The chief education officer in Israel’s armed forces, Brig.-Gen. Eli Shermeister, decided this month to form a dance troupe in which conscripts can spend their mandatory service. The troupe will entertain regular forces much like the military bands that long have been a feature of Israeli life in uniform.
Taking part in the initiative is Ido Tadmor, a renowned Israeli choreographer. Tadmor said the military wanted to accommodate aspiring dancers for whom getting drafted is a potentially career-killing move.
“Instead of serving in the canteen or the quartermaster’s stores, or not enlisting at all, it is preferable and right both for them and for the military for them to contribute of their talent,” he told Yediot Achronot on Wednesday.
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