As a Master of Fine Arts candidate in Directing from Score, I staged Fred Berk's Holiday in Israel from Labanotation score and combined my studio process and research interests. In this qualitative inquiry, I collected interview and questionnaire data investigating the perception of the role of folk dance in cultural identity. This research examines the role of Israeli folk dance in the cultural identity of Jewish and non-Jewish populations in New York City and Columbus, Ohio, who have chosen to participate in recreational Israeli and international folk dance sessions. I hoped to understand how their participation impacts their perception and understanding of the State of Israel and Israelis and Jews living in America. Observation, participation, personal interview, and scholarly reading was utilized to examine modern Israeli folk dance and the circumstances of its inception and dissemination through the lenses of the arts, Eric Hobsbawm's "invented tradition," and cultural identity.