The Yemenite step is a dance step widely used in Jewish dancing and Israeli folk dancing. It originates from the dancing of Yemenite Jews.
Yemenite step (tza'ad Temani) is a popular dance performed Jews during weddings and other Jewish occasions.[1] The basic Tza'ad Temani step provides a swaying movement that changes the dancer's direction of motion, although the dancer may face forward throughout the step. It is usually a sideways movement, but may be done moving backward and forward (or vice versa). It consists of three steps, with a short pause on the final step for a "quick, quick, slow" tempo.
The most common variations are known as a right Temani (or Yemenite right), and left Temani (or Yemenite left). (The alternate form of each name—placing the adjective after the noun—is due to a common preference among dance teachers to emphasize the name of the step rather than its direction.) Each of these names specifies both the direction of the first movement, and the foot on which the movement begins (and ends).
The following description of the right Yemenite step explains the footwork and direction of movement:[2]
Reversing the above footwork and direction of movement will give the details of the left Yemenite step.
Dance teachers have also applied the name Yemenite to steps that differ from the classic Yemenite step but retain enough similarity to make the name helpful for teaching or descriptive purposes. Thus the back Yemenite, the name of which specifies the direction of the first movement and can be expanded to specify the starting foot. Similarly, some teachers may use phrases such as Yemenite-hop, or Yemenite-pivot to describe an otherwise-normal Yemenite step that ends with the specified movement rather than a hold.