Jewish athletes gather in Irvine

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Girls watch a fellow dancer perform as they wait their turn at the Maccabi Games in Irvine. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

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Nicole Stein, left, and Coral Kalush of Washington, D.C., sit offstage during the performances. The Olympic-style event draws Jewish teenagers from around the globe. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

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Dancers Sophie Polins, left, and Shoshana Moyer of Boston check their makeup backstage. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

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Coral Kalush, left, and Noa Mazia of Washington, D.C., perform a jazz duet. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

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Josh Zimmerman, the only male performing in the jazz solo competition for ages 12 to 14, shows his flexibility in a piece titled “Stand Out.” (Don Bartletti / LAT)

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Ali Speyer, left, and Lilli Weiner of Newport Beach mirror each other during their routine. (Don Bartletti / LAT)

By David Haldane

Aug. 16, 2007 12 AM PT

Lilli Weiner wants someday to marry what her friends refer to as “a nice Jewish boy.”

“They’re very hard to find around here,” says Weiner, 15, of Newport Beach. “It’s rare. There aren’t a lot around and you have to meet a nice, intelligent one.”

This week she’s improving her chances by participating in an event drawing about 2,100 Jewish teens to Orange County from several continents. The annual Maccabi Games are a five-day event described as the world’s largest sports competition for Jewish teenagers.

“We want them to walk away with an amazing experience,” said Dan Berzansky, games director for the Mirage Jewish Community Center in Irvine which is playing host to one of three regional Maccabi Games in the United States. The other two are in Baltimore and Houston. “My goal is for these kids to understand that it’s cool to be Jewish.”

Held at various venues in and around Irvine through Friday, the games include baseball, basketball, in-line hockey, soccer, swimming, ping-pong, tennis, track and field, volleyball, bowling and dance.

Competitors hail from several states as well as Australia, Great Britain, Israel and Canada. “It’s a chance for them to meet Jewish kids from around the world,” Berzansky said.

The event is important, said Jake Meyer, a parent from Stamford, Conn., because “Jewish people are a minority in the country and the world. We have to make these connections to sustain the religion and the values.”

That certainly seemed to be happening among participants in this year’s dance competition at UC Irvine.

“I’m a Jew and I grew up in a non-Jewish community,” said Raffie Rosenberg, 14, from Winnipeg, Canada, one of dozens of young dancers performing jazz, hip-hop and ballet solos in sequins, tights, black hats and boas. “It’s great to be around all these people who share my beliefs.”

Not everyone, of course, came just for the sport.

Lilly Esses, 16, from Brooklyn, N.Y., was here, in part, to see California. “The weather is amazing,” she said. “It’s nice and airy -- not like Brooklyn where everything’s stuffy.”

Weiner and her friends, meanwhile, were conducting their boy search. Early on they decided not to let the fact that they are dancers, the vast majority of whom are female, get in the way of their plans.

“We also go to soccer games and baseball games,” said Ali Speyer, 15, of Newport Beach.

The after-hours field trips to such local attractions as Wild Rivers water park are helpful too, she said.

“We just get on the bus,” Speyer said, “and look to see who’s there.”

david.haldane@latimes.com