Canadabkeh

The Vancouver music and dance team Canadabkeh will lead a folk fest dance class that will celebrate the enduring strength of Arabic culture and tradition, and the joy of communal dance.

Dabke is an ancient but still popular folk dance rooted in many of the cultures of the Levant region of the Middle East. UNESCO describes dabke as “a means of expressing cultural identity, celebrating family occasions and increasing social ties.” For Palestinians in particular, it embodies a spirit of community, resilience, and cultural pride. It’s also tremendous fun!

Canadabkeh was founded by Haytham and Zaid Alhamaydeh, two Palestinian brothers from Nablus. When they arrived in Vancouver, they found that dabke culture was not active here and so they decided “to look for passionate individuals who would share and pursue the vision of bringing joy to the community through zaffe chants and loud dabke footwork.”The group is “passionate about spreading the Arabic culture and connecting people.”

Canadabkeh says that their dance lessons are “open to all age ranges and genders. We are humbled to witness the presence of passionate dancers that attend to learn about the dabke culture.” We are delighted that Canadabkeh will join us at Jericho Beach to share and teach this very old and very joyous dance form.