Dance
DABKE |
What is Dabke?The word is Arabic and means "stomping the ground."
The Dabke is a traditional Arabic folk dance that started in the mountainous regions above the Mediterranean coastline and the Tigriss River. When the Dabke was first created, it was mainly danced by people of the villages and towns of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and some quasi-bedouin tribes that were living in nearby territories. The Dabke is now the national dance of Jordan as well as Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. In Lebanon, the Dabke dance was originally formed because of the different seasons Lebanon was exposed to. Dabke is a form of both circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and joyous occasions. The line forms from right to left. The leader of the dabke heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other dancers. For more information, click the following links: Dabke MusicSome of the most popular Dabke songs are "Dal Ouna," "Al Jafra," "Al Dahiyya," and "Zareef il-Tool." They are actually entire genres in themselves, in the sense that lyrics can vary significantly in each performance, but the basic rhythm of the music is consistent and recognizable. Visit the Music page to hear examples.
Dabke VideosAbove: "Al-Shamaliyya" – This is the most famous. It is performed by men with a “lawweeh” leading the group. The lawweeh is expected to be particularly skilled in accuracy, with quickness and the ability to improvise.
Above: "Dabke Niswaniyyah" (type that only women dance to)
Above: "Al-Farah," one of the most active types of dabke and therefore requires a high degree of physical fitness
How To Dabke!Dabke Photo GalleryThe photos above were taken from the Anansa Blog page for Traditional Arabic Folk Dance. Click here to visit.
The photos above were taken from the Wikipedia Dabke page. Click here to visit.
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