History

The award winning Qabila Folkdance Company was created in the fall of 2011 under the direction of Aubre Hill. Dedicated to sharing the joy of Arabic folkdance, Qabila performs at a variety of festivals, theatres, and events as well as teaches workshops, lectures, and classes for schools and other organizations representing folk dances from across the Arab World and beyond.

Qabila is currently under the process of becoming one of the few non-profit Arabic folk dance companies and now has dance companies in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Seattle. Our work centers on a strong belief that art can build bridges of understanding across cultures, ages, genders, ideologies, and backgrounds and allows us all to belong. Be a part of the folk dance revolution!

A word from our Artistic Director:

The Qabila Foundation believes Arabic folkdance has the power to bring people together across our differences to build bridges of understanding & to allow us all to belong. I started this folk dance company in September 2011 after a growing rise of violence, misinformation, and heavy emotions towards our Arab communities. General education was coming from news sources lacking cultural context or a focus on communities. Simultaneously the growing popularity of bellydance was leaving behind its cultural roots and new dancers were walking into a form devoid of history and cultural respect as it branched into vast array of creative fusion forms. I wanted to help bring education but also the great celebratory quality of Arabic folk dance to anyone interested in learning. I held auditions without any expectations of who would attend, and to my completely surprise the response was huge, enthusiastic, and hungry to learn and be apart of exactly this vision. Over the past 10 years, our folk dance company has expanded in dancers, repertoire, and opportunities. We have even grew into three chapters, one here in Los Angeles, a second chapter in the Bay Area, and our newest chapter in Seattle. Our growth and success has come solely from the dedication and devotion of our members whom meet weekly to rehearse, practice on their own, perform frequently, and support each other as chosen family. We share in the vision of breaking down barriers, because when you dance together you can feel how connected we are, how we strive for so many of the same things, and how we truly are in this all together. ~Aubre Hill

Past Performances

2020
February 22 - East Bay Bellydance Showcase (Oakland, CA)
February 14 and 16 - Travel & Adventure Expo (Los Angeles, CA)
February 8 - RaqsSpot (Los Angeles, CA)
February 1 - African Roots & Diaspora Hafla (Glassell Park, CA)
January 25 - East Bay Bellydance Showcase (Oakland, CA)

2019
December 14 - Atomic Raqstars (Irvine, CA)
October 20 - Anaheed’s Swapmeet (Granada Hills, CA)
September 1 - Turquoise International Summer Hafla (Woodland Hills, CA)
August 3 - JamBallah (Portland, OR)
July 21 - Carnival of Stars (Alameda, CA)
June 30 - Hot Raqs Gala Show (Clovis, CA)
June 8 - “Mystique” at Cairo ShimmyQuake (Glendale, CA)
June 1 - Pharoahs & Ancient Egypt Hafla (Glassell Park, CA)
April 13 - Dance Pioneers Hafla (Glassell Park, CA)
March 29 - Bellydance Evolution “Wizard of Oz” Opening Show (Burbank, CA)
March 17 - Anaheed’s Swapmeet (Granada Hills, CA)
February 16 - RaqsSpot (Silverlake, CA)
February 16-17 - Travel & Adventure Expo (Los Angeles, CA)
January 5 - Dreams & Ambitions Hafla (Glassell Park, CA)

2018
November 17 - Nights of Arabé (Silverlake, CA)
July 21 - Journey of the Sun (Los Angeles, CA)
June 29-31 - Hot Raqs Gala Show and Folkdance Night (Clovis, CA)
April 28 - Renaissance Pleasure Fair (Irwindale, CA)
April 22 - SF Earth Day (San Francisco, CA), Havana Habibi (Havana, Cuba)
March 23 - LA Raqs “History Through Bellydance” (Los Angeles, CA)
February 24-25 - Travel & Adventure Expo (Los Angeles, CA)

…more coming soon!