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8 4 English  Nederlands

Intifada & Dabke

EL HEMA Koopavond 14

What do intifada, and dabke, the popular folkdance of the Levant, have in common? Very little, at a first glance. However, manifestations of political and national identity are very much intertwined with pop folkloric and cultural heritage.

With:
Nayla Chebli, Arjan El Fassed, Abdelkader Benali, Nat Muller

Intifada, which in Arabic literally means a “shaking off”, has politically (predominantly) come to mean the popular resistance of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation. Dabke (stomping in Arabic) is a traditional linedance which celebrates community, solidarity and often nationalism (in the case of Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Jordan). Both dabke and intifada rally people together: the former an expression of joy and cultural identity, the latter a political uprising against an untenable status quo.

intifada and dabke at Mediamatic

During the evening, Electronic Intifada co-founder Arjan El Fassed (PS/NL) showed us how the revolution is (partly) digitized, and oriental dancer Nayla Chebli (LB/NL) taught us the moves and grooves of the dabke. Moreover, writer Abdelkader Benali (MA/NL) provided us with the necessary literary glue from his novel that was still in progress at the time, called Munya.

The evening was hosted by independent curator Nat Muller.

Contributions 
Saba van Hoften, Nat Muller 
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