Eretz Eretz
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Hebrew: ארץ ארץ (The Land, The Land, that is, the land of Israel). Circle dance by Yankele Levy and Shlomo Bachar, 1974. Sometimes called "Eretz Eretz Eretz" or just "Eretz".
(If you were looking for Bo'i Nashuv El HaTango, 1984 partner dance by Israel Shiker, please read on.)
The first section of the dance (the first half of part 1) is identical to most of Armenian "folk" dance Sirun Aghchik (Sweet Girl), the winner of a 1953 contest in Fresno, California, for newly-created Armenian dances. In the most popular recording, the music of part 2 is repeated at the end, causing dancer confusion about whether to repeat part 2 or to do part 1 to the music of part 2. (The best bet is usually to follow the music.)
The song was written in 1976 by Shaike Peikov. The famed music producer Shlomo Tzach had asked him to write a song for his new singer Ruhama Raz. However, when the song was presented to her, both the singer and the composer thought the song was inappropriate. Tzach wanted to hold the song for the up-and-coming singer Ilanit, but Peikov didn't want to wait.
Shortly thereafter, singer Yehoram Gaon came to Peikov and asked for a song; Peikov offered him Eretz Eretz. Gaon was pleased with the song and paid for an orchestral arrangement, but never made a recording. Then, late in 1976, Ilanit won Kol Yisrael's title "Singer of the Year" and Tzach once again requested Eretz Eretz for her. Peikov agreed, despite his fear of a lawsuit from Gaon, and Ilanit recorded the song.
Years later, Peikov met Gaon accidentally and asked how he could make things right. Gaon replied with a request for another song. Peikov composed a melody, had Yoram Taharlev write lyrics, and the result was Bo'l Nashuv El HaTango.
There is considerable irony in the fact that Shlomo Bachar, who moved to the USA in 1962, created a dance to a song whose lyrics say "The land where we were born and where we will live come what may".
Links
Ilanit performing the song
Ofer Gavish's blog post on the song, the source of this article
The story of Sirun Aghchik
Eretz Eretz at israelidances.com
Bo'i Nashuv El HaTango at israelidances.com
Video of Bo'i Nashuv El HaTango at Rokdim