Yo Ya

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(Not to be confused with Hey Yo-Ya, Moshiko circle dance.)

Hebrew יו יה, a meaningless call or cheer. Four-wall block (line) dance.

Concerning the origin of the dance, Ira Weisburd writes:

The original choreographer was a lady named FREDDIE SAVARICK z"l from New York, who taught me the dance. She folk danced with us in the '70's. The dance she called SNOOPY was originally done to the song SLOOPY by The McCoys (1965). The dance came out around 1972 or 1973. When [the song] YO YA came out, I believe it was Yoav Ashriel who then put her dance to it . . . . We have also danced it to DRAGGIN' THE LINE by Tommy James and the Shondels. The POOKIE is another of her famous line dances from the '70's.

That last sentence is confirmed by the instructions for Pookie at PhantomRanch. Phil Moss asserts that Moshiko Halevy told him that the dance was originally Snoopy.

The music we use is the song Yo Ya by the band Kaveret, also known as Poogy after one of the band members. The song was written in 1973 by Danny Sanderson for the band's debut album Sipurei Poogy, which is considered "one of the most important albums in the history of Israeli music".

Links

Kaveret playing Yo Ya in 1973

Hang On Sloopy by the McCoys

The dance Snoopy to the tune of Draggin' the Line

Yo Ya at israelidances.com

Video at Rokdim