Workshop with Yaa Samar! "Dancing Dabke"

Dancing Dabke
A Workshop with Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre
Sponsored by: Arabic Studies; Center for Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Class of ’46 Fund for World Brotherhood; Dance; Gaudino Creative Residencies; Global Studies; Lecture Committee; Oakley Center; Psychology; W. Ford Schumann ’50 Program in Democratic Studies; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Registration required.

Workshop Description:

Dabke is a Levantine folkloric dance traditionally used in cultural moments of celebration and resistance. Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre classes blend contemporary dance and theater with traditional Dabke tools (rhythm, footwork, unison movement etc.) to invite improvisation and play within the traditional form. Class starts with a warm-up and builds skills including technique, strength, stamina, rhythm and improvisation. Our goals as educators are to provide new tools for creative expression, validate individuals through empowered choice-making, honor diverse perspectives and abilities, and center the power of storytelling in pursuit of social justice. The practice of Dabke is inherently intertwined with social justice movements, and conversations around the use of dance and art in social justice movements will also be incorporated into the class time.

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre is a non-profit based between Palestine and NYC. It delivers performance and education programs around the world to increase access to – and promote understanding through – the arts.

Gaudino Creative Residencies support short-term campus visits by artists, makers, or practitioners of any field who intend to share their knowledge, skills, and creative expertise directly with students through modes of experiential, practice-based, or hands-on learning. Such pedagogy aligns with the larger mission of the Gaudino Fund, which, inspired by the legacy of Prof. Robert L. Gaudino, aims to foster curricular initiatives that emphasize the deep connections between lived experience and intellectual endeavor.