Events

Event details

El-Funoun Dance Troupe, the premier Palestinian dance group, will be visiting from Ramallah, Palestine to offer a special series of dabke workshops to teach this traditional Palestinian dance while raising urgent funds needed for El-Funoun to continue their forty-five year legacy.

El-Funoun is a precious cultural organization facing a dire financial situation due to the compounding effects of the current moment of siege and genocide as well as ongoing Israeli colonization as well as El-Funoun’s ethical stance regarding funding. El-Funoun refuses what is known as conditional funding, namely funds from mainly European nations available to Palestinian NGOs on the condition that they denounce righteous Palestinian resistance. This has been further exacerbated by El-Funoun’s recent decision to also refuse funding from countries who have been silent about genocide being perpetrated by Israel and have not called for a ceasefire.

Your participation in these workshops will be a material form of support for El-Funoun as they fundraise for their survival and the ways they preserve the cultural legacy of dabke. If you are unable to attend in person, please donate to El-Funoun here.

Dabke is the traditional Palestinian dance form—performed at weddings and other celebrations—in which El-Funoun’s innovative dance is rooted. The visiting dancers will discuss the work of this vital Palestinian cultural institution and its resolve to remain steadfast in the face of the Israeli military occupation that aims to silence, suppress, and erase Palestinian society and culture. The series of events will highlight the role of dabke as a form of cultural preservation and resistance. Participants will learn traditional dances such as dalouneh, tayara, and zamer and create choreographic sequences using these steps.

WORKSHOPS

All workshops take place at Red Eye Theater. Class registration comes with a promo code for a free ticket to the Community Dabke Performance and El-Funoun Dialogue.

CLASS FEE
We are asking a sliding scale fee of $25–$50 per class as well as for audience members of the Thursday performance. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. This is the minimum registration ask, but we encourage you to be much, much more generous if you are able. Funds will go directly to support El-Funoun’s on-going work in Palestine and worldwide to keep Palestinian dance, music, and culture alive and thriving.

Youth Workshop
Wednesday, October 16, 5–6pm
REGISTER
Designed for ages 7–14, this workshop is an introduction to basic steps of traditional Palestinian dances. This family-friendly interactive training explores the role of dabke in shaping Palestinian identity and culture.

Community Dabke Workshop
Wednesday, October 16, 6:30–8:30pm
REGISTER
This workshop is open to folks of all experience levels and identities and will be an introduction to Palestinian Dabke and learning the basic steps.

Experienced Dancer Workshop
Thursday, October 17, 10am–12pm
REGISTER
This workshop is designed for dancers, choreographers, and anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of traditional Palestinian dabke, including dalouneh and tayara. Dancers will also learn improvisation of the laweeh, the leader of the dabke circle. 

SWANA + BIPOC Community Dabke Workshop
Thursday, October 17, 5–6:30pm
REGISTER
We invite our Arab and SWANA community as well as other BIPOC friends to join in a collaborative community dabke workshop and preparation for a performance at 7pm.

PERFORMANCE

Community Dabke Performance and El-Funoun Dialogue
Thursday, October 17, 7–8:30pm

Dancers that participate in the SWANA + BIPOC Community Dabke Workshop will share a performance at 7pm, led by El-Funoun dancers followed by a performance by El-Funoun. After the performances, El-Funoun dancers and local facilitators will discuss the history of dabke as a vital Palestinian cultural practice and the ways dabke acts as a form of cultural preservation and resistance. After the presentation, audience members will be invited to learn dabke steps, participate in a traditional dabke circle, and meet with the dancers.

ABOUT THE EL-FUNOUN MEMBER TEACHERS

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. Karajah is one of the principal dancers, instructors, and choreographers in the troupe. He has cochoreographed El-Funoun’s The Rooster, Asheera, and its upcoming production, Zaff. He has also conducted a number of dabke workshops in Palestine and internationally.  He holds a BA in business administration from Birzeit University in Palestine and, in addition to his work with El-Funoun, 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 Dance Troupe since 1987. She started dancing at El-Funoun at the age of seven and is currently El-Funoun’s head of production, choreographing and directing various projects. Her latest work with El-Funoun was co-directing their most recent production, “Asheera.” She is also an international performer and maker that 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. Baker received an MA in performance making from Goldsmiths University of London and a BA in business administration from Birzeit University.

The local, collaborative hosts organizing this opportunity to learn from, connect with, and support El-Funoun Dance Troupe are Mizna, Grief & Rage Circle for Palestine, and Body Watani Dance project (curated rentals at Red Eye Theater).