Whether you are a professional Dabke dancer or not, as long as there’s Dabke music playing and you’re a Palestinian, you are sure to dance your heavy heart free.
We all know Dabke as the collective traditional dance where dancers stomp their feet and jump excitedly to traditional music in big festivals or weddings. But Dabke is a dance loaded with historical values and political statements. This Arabic folk dance revives the Palestinian culture and promotes the Palestinian cause in a positive way that everyone can enjoy. It is said that this dance, which is of Canaanite and Phoenician origins, came about as a result of house-building. Back then, people would gather to help each other stomp over the dirt needed to be compacted to build the roof. As a result, Dabke was born.
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Dabke is not only a Palestinian dance, it is also performed in other Levant countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. And the rhythmic steps of the dance are usually accompanied with the traditional tunes of Zareef At-toul, Ala Dalouna and Jafra.
Passed down from generation to generation and performed in almost every Palestinian household, Dabke is a vehicle for dialogue, and, for many, it’s a way to promote the Palestinian cause. It is a dance that tells the story of a striving, but persistent and united community.
Stand up for the Palestinian culture and smile 🙂 !