Learn about dabke and cultural resistance with El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe
Members of the premiere dance group in Palestine, El-Funoun, will be in NYC this October as part of a multicity tour to lead dabke workshops and teach about this traditional Palestinian dance as a form of cultural preservation and resistance.
NYC events
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REGISTER for October 10 event at Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Members of the premiere dance group in Palestine, El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe, will be offering a special performance and presentation about the role of dabke as a form of cultural preservation and resistance.Dabke is the traditional Palestinian dance form – performed at weddings and other celebrations – in which El-Funoun’s innovative dance style is rooted. The dancers will discuss the work of this vital Palestinian cultural institution, and its resolve to remain steadfast in the face of a military occupation that aims to silence, suppress and erase Palestinian society and culture.
Following the performance / presentation, the two trainers will carry out a dabke workshop where participants can learn the steps to traditional Palestinian dances including dalouneh and tayara that form the basis of Palestinian dabke and El-Funoun's contemporary dabke style and dance school of thought. Participants will also learn about the important role of the laweeh, the principal dancer in a dabke circle.
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REGISTER for Dabke and Improvisation Workshop October 11 at Movement Research
Watch demonstrations of El-Funoun's contemporary dabke style and learn the basic steps to traditional Palestinian dances.
The interactive training workshop will provide participants the opportunity to explorethe role of dabke in shaping Palestinian identity and culture
dance steps and sequences that comprise traditional Palestinian dabke such as dalouneh and tayara
improvisation of the laweeh, the principle dancer who leads the dabke circle
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REGISTER for October 11 community workshop at Freedom Dabka Group in Staten Island
Join dancer-choreographers from the premiere dance troupe in Palestine, El-Funoun Dance Troupe, for an all-ages, mixed-level dabke workshop for the Palestinian community and allies. Watch demonstrations of El-Funoun's contemporary dabke style and practice the basic steps to traditional Palestinian dances. The interactive training workshop will provide participants the opportunity to explorethe role of dabke in shaping Palestinian identity and culture
the dance steps and sequences that comprise traditional Palestinian dabke such as dalouneh and tayara
improvisation of the laweeh, the principle dancer who leads the dabke circle
Come celebrate Palestinian culture and resistance and make connections with members of the community.
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REGISTER for Palestinian Dabke As Cultural Resistance October 12 at Performance Space New York
Members of the premiere dance group in Palestine, El-Funoun Dance Troupe, will be offering a special performance and presentation about dabke as a form of cultural preservation and resistance.
Dabke is the traditional Palestinian dance form – performed at weddings and other celebrations – in which El-Funoun’s innovative dance style is rooted. The dancers will discuss the history of El-Funoun as a vital Palestinian cultural institution and the challenges the Troupe, and its members, face in carrying cultural production and performance in the face of a military occupation whose purpose is to silence, suppress and erase Palestinian society and culture.After the presentation, audience members will be invited to learn dabke steps, participate in a traditional dabke circle, and meet with the dancers.
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REGISTER for October 13 community workshop at Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Join dancer-choreographers from the premiere dance troupe in Palestine, El-Funoun Dance Troupe, for an all-ages, mixed-level dabke workshop for the Palestinian community and allies. Watch demonstrations of El-Funoun's contemporary dabke style and practice the basic steps to traditional Palestinian dances. The interactive training workshop will provide participants the opportunity to explorethe role of dabke in shaping Palestinian identity and culture
the dance steps and sequences that comprise traditional Palestinian dabke such as dalouneh and tayara
improvisation of the laweeh, the principle dancer who leads the dabke circle
Come celebrate Palestinian culture and resistance and make connections with members of the community.
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REGISTER for Dabke and Discussion with Social Workers for Justice in Palestine, October 13 at Salam Arabic Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Organized by Social Workers for Justice in Palestine. From 4 to 6 p.m. speakers from Indigenous and Palestine solidarity groups will offer insights into how social and mental health workers can contribute to movements for justice. Participants will engage in breakout discussions centered on solidarity, mobilization, and art.At 6 p.m. members of El-Funoun will lead a dabke workshop, where attendees will learn this traditional Palestinian dance and explore its significance.
About El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe
For 45 years, El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe has been preserving, promoting, and reimagining Palestinian culture. Established in 1979 by a small group of artists, the Troupe today comprises close to 300 volunteer members. The Troupe is committed to dance education, running its own dance school and youth troupe, Barem El-Funoun, in Palestine and conducting dabke training in Palestine and around the world. Through its work, El-Funoun aims to challenge oppression and resist Israel’s attempts at cultural erasure. The Troupe is currently working on their seventeenth major production, Zaff, about life in a refugee camp.
El-Funoun refuses conditional funding from international aid agencies and aid from organizations that have failed to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which has had significant material consequences.
Meet the Workshop Instructors
Samer Karajah
Samer Karajah started his dance career with the Handala Dabke Troupe in the village of Saffa before becoming a member of El-Funoun in 2010. Samer is one of the principal dancers, instructors, and choreographers in the Troupe. He has co-choreographed El-Funoun’s The Rooster, Asheera, and its upcoming production Zaff. He has also conducted a number of dabke workshops in Palestine and internationally.
Samer holds a BA in business administration from Birzeit University in Palestine. In addition to his work with El-Funoun, he is a co-owner of a restaurant, an entrepreneur, and a farmer. He is inspired as an artist by developing dance informed by natural movements found in everyday life.
Noora Baker
Noora Baker is a director, choreographer, and trainer and has been a member of El-Funoun since 1987, when she joined its youth troupe, Barem. Noora is currently El-Funoun’s head of production, choreographing and directing various projects, and she co-directed its most recent production, Asheera. She is also an international performer and maker, and has worked collaboratively with artists such as Yoshiko Chuma and André Gingras.
Noora is a co-founder and member of CACTUS performance art collective and has worked on several projects regionally and internationally. She is a lecturer in the College of Arts, Music and Design at Birzeit University. She received an MA in performance making from Goldsmiths University of London and a BA in business administration from Birzeit University.
