Meet & Greet: Dabkeh, Culture, and Teach-in

Busboys and Poets will host El-Funoun Dabkeh troop on 8/25. Coming all the way from Ramallah-Palestine to Virginia,Busboys and Poets will be hosting one day in August to speak about the Palestinian folk dance, songs, and do a teach-in.

INFO ABOUT EL-FUNOUN

Widely considered the lead Palestinian dance company in Palestine and the diaspora, El-Funoun was established in 1979 by a small group of enthusiastic, creative and committed artists. The Troupe has developed an innovative style of dance deeply-rooted in Palestinian and Arab folklore and informed by elements of contemporary dance movement. The Troupe’s repertoire includes 16 major dance productions and over 1,500 performances throughout historic Palestine, regionally, and internationally. In Palestine, El-Funoun has developed a school for contemporary Palestinian dance, training hundreds annually. It has carried out dabke workshops throughout the West Bank, in the Arab world and internationally.

Sustained almost entirely by volunteers for decades, El-Funoun is a non-profit dance company with close to 300 members. El-Funoun’s mission is to revive and innovate Palestinian music, song and dance. Recognizing culture as a tool of and for resistance, El-Funoun challenges the complicity of international aid agencies in the oppression of Palestinians by refusing politically conditioned funding from agencies that have failed to call for a ceasefire. The dance company is working toward becoming fully self-sufficient by raising funds through its dance productions and workshops.

MEET THE EL-FUNOUN INSTRUCTORS

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.

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.

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