Men from the Palestinian city of al-Bireh performing the dabke

Dabke (Arabic: دبكة; also transliterated as debke, dabka, and dabkeh) is the traditional folk dance of the Levant, going back generations, and is also the national dance of Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Jordan, it's found also in Iraq there quite often under the colloquial term (Chobi). al-Bireh or el-Bira (البيرة אָל בִּירֶה is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, north of Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances mostly of European origin that tend to share the following attributes originally danced in about the See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics.

It is danced by men, women, or both, with different steps and different rhythms being more common in different areas of the Middle East. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Dabke is a dance of community, often performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. Like other folk dances of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Armenia, and Eastern Europe, dabke is a line dance. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. A line dance is choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines (British English "rows" without regard

However, it is also a dance of solidarity and a way of expressing nationalism and the age-old presence of art and culture in a positive way. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation The Dabke leader is supposed to be like a tree, with arms in the air, a proud and upright trunk, and feet that stomp the ground in rhythm, emphasizing their connection to their land. The meaning of "dabke" in Arabic is "stomping of the feet", and stomping, as well as jumping and kicking, are moves that characterize the dabke in a unique manner. The leader, called raas (meaning "head") or "lawwih" (meaning "waver"), is allowed to improvise on the type of dabke being danced, and he or she would also be twirling a handkerchief or string of beads known as a masbha (similar to a rosary), while the rest of the dancers keep the rhythm. The dancers also use vocalizations to show energy and to punctuate the rhythm. Many learn dabke as children, while others perform it as part of professional dance troupes.

Female dancers.

Dabke was popularized and modernized during the Twentieth Century by Lebanese composers Assi and Mansour Rahbani and singers like Zaki Nassif, Fairuz, Wadih el Safi, and Nasri Shamseddine and sooner by Wafik Habib and Ali el Dik, all who performed at the legendary Baalbek Festival. The Rahbani Brothers ( Arabic: الأخوان رحباني) Assi Rahbani ( Arabic: عاصي الرحباني; May 4 Mansour Rahbani ( Arabic: منصور الرحباني) is a Lebanese Composer, Musician and producer. Fairuz ( فيروز, also spelled Fairouz or Fayrouz) (born November 21, 1935) is a distinguished Lebanese singer Nasri Shamseddine (also spelled Nasri Chamseddine) (1927 - 1983 was a Lebanese singer and actor This was held at the ancient Roman temples of Baalbek, Lebanon. Baalbek (بعلبك is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 1170 m (3850 ft situated east of the Litani River. Some famous performers of various troupes in Lebanon included Alain Merheb, Kigham, and Hassan Harfouche. Lebanon's most famous dabke troupe was the Firkat el Arz. Some internationally famous dabke troupes today include Ibdaa, Sareyyet Ramallah, and El-Funoun, all based in Palestine.

Origin

There are several theories on its origin, none which are well documented. Since the Middle East was under various Turkic dynasties for many centuries, it is possible that the Turks introduced it, since most Middle Eastern cultures with line dancing were under their rule. The Turkic peoples are Eurasian peoples residing in northern central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. However, it is more likely though that the relatively new Turks were influenced by the Assyrians, Kurds, Greeks, Arabs and Armenians given the fact that their cultures are more ancient and prevalent in the Middle East. However, the Turks may have received the dance from the Gypsies (or vice versa) since most instruments affiliated with the dabke are also affiliated with Gypsies, particularly the Ghajar and Nawar tribes who populate the Middle East: buzuk, tabl, mijwiz, mizmar, nay, kamanja, rababa, debkkeh and bagpipe. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins The saz (from Persian:) is a family of Plucked string instruments popular in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Names A large double-headed Drum with many names depending on the country and region some of which include davul (davul daul The mijwiz ( مجوز) is a traditional musical instrument of ancient Egypt and the Levant. The ney ( Persian: نی; Arabic: ناي; also nai, nye, nay, This article is about the Persian kamancheh For the related but different Turkish & Armenian instrument see Kemenche. The rebab ( Arabic الرباب or رباب; also rebap, rabab, rebeb, The goblet drum (also chalice drum) is a goblet shaped Hand drum used mostly in Arabic, Assyrian, Persian, Balkan, Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag Some popular dabke songs, like Ala Ain Moulayiteen have Turkish Gypsy counterparts (Shashkin is its name in Turkish). The music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and music from Ottoman Empire dominions such as Persian music, It may also have influenced North Indian dancing.

Longest Dabke Dance

In 2007, Palestinian Arabs in the city of Acre broke the world record for the longest dabke dance. Arab citizens of Israel refers to Arabs or Arabic -speaking people who are Citizens of Israel who are not Jewish. A human chain of 2,743 people danced the dabke for seven minutes straight in Acre's Old City, breaking the previous record of 1,700 set in Toronto. ^[1]

References

External links

• Palestinian Dabkeh performed in London
• Longest Dabkeh in the world, Palestine