282 | The Culture
Folk dance manifests itself both through individual participation and stage performances. Public enthusiasm for folk dancing has led to the emergence of the professional dance leader and to thousands of people participating regularly in dance activities as a recreational outlet. Since 1988, a three-day international folk-dance festival has been held annually at Karmiel, a town in central Galilee, with the participation of troupes from Israel and around the world. Alongside Israeli folk dance, and influencing it, are the traditional dances of the different ethnic groups, which reflect both the 'ingathering of the exiles' and the pluralistic nature of Israel's society. They are preserved by a number of troupes specializing in the dances of Yemen, Kurdistan, North Africa, India, Georgia, Bukhara, and Ethiopia, and by ensembles which perform Arab, Druze, and Circassian dances.