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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/04/gaza-musicians-perform-sydney-opera-house-ntwnfb>
"As long as you can hear a beat or someone singing, you can
dabke.
“The official definition, if there is one for
dabke, is when a group of
people dance together, usually in a synchronised way,” Derek Halawa says.
Unofficially, the musician continues, the
dabke is when a group of people
jump in no particular order, prompted by the sound of music. Sometimes the only
beat is the sound of feet hitting the floor, without a drum.
“All the beat and rhythm that you need actually comes from the stomping,” he
says. “It’s an expression of our culture. It can be an expression of our joy,
frustration – a show of power.”
A celebration of the Levantine folk dance forms part of
Dabke and Tatreez, an
Artists for Peace event showing at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday.
There, Halawa will play the riq – one of the world’s oldest instruments.
It is “like a tambourine but it’s especially for Arabic music,” Palestinian
musician Seraj Jelda says.
Jelda, who played with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Gaza
before fleeing Israel’s bombardment for Australia a year ago, will play the riq
and oud on Sunday.
He’s one of an ensemble of 10 artists performing at the event, which brings
together musicians and dancers with Palestinian, Lebanese, Turkish, Indonesian
and Cypriot heritage.
“It means a lot because we are delivering our culture, our songs,” Jelda says."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
