Looking back at our August dance adventures

Pictured above: Yallah!, Middle East Music & Dance Camp, Emerald Sanctuary Retreat, Heidi’s 70th birthday celebration

Coming soon: Afghan Dance course with Samia Karimi

We are honored and thrilled to have the amazing Samia Karimi for a unique online Afghan Dance course next month!!! Stay tuned for full details. This course will include technique, cultural context, musicality, and an opportunity to perform for those local to Los Angeles at the culmination of the course. Full details will be announced on our website shortly. Don’t miss this opportunity to study with an incredible teacher, artist, and being. Email qabilafoundation@gmail.com if you would like to receive details directly as soon as they are available. 

NEW Dance for Palestine Fundraiser

In celebration of back-to-school, Dance for Palestine is offering a new fundraiser featuring a whole library of video classes by some of today’s top Middle Eastern dance artists, teachers, and scholars. All proceeds will go directly to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Fundraiser launches Sept 1st so don’t miss out on this great chance to dive into your studies while supporting Falastin! 

Recommended READ: "Core Connections" by Christine M. Şahin

“Core Connections: Cairo Belly Dance in the Revolution’s Aftermath” by Christine M. Şahin, published w/ Oxford University Press (2024), is available to readers worldwide! This is a dance ethnography based on fieldwork in Cairo between 2015-2020 - a key time in the city’s rich dance history remaining highly relevant today. Explore contemporary class-stratified sites of dance in relation to embodied socio-political values & knowledge. Deepen your understanding of Cairo raqs sharqi dancers’ lived realities, commercial performance circuits, and dance’s entwinement with history, culture, & local, intra-MENA, and global politics.”

Interested in joining us for a book club? Email qabilafoundation@gmail.com for details. 

February Book Club Selection: "Blackness in Morocco: Gnawa Identity through Music and Visual Culture"

Join us as we dive into a new book each month exploring Arabic culture, arts, and experiences. In celebration of Black History Month, we are excited to share Cynthia J Becker’s “Blackness in Morocco: Gnawa Identity through Music and Visual Culture.”

“Absolutely groundbreaking, Blackness in Morocco is the work of a trailblazing intellect. Showing that 'blackness' is constructed in Africa as elsewhere in the world, Cynthia J. Becker demonstrates a deep commitment to Gnawa lived experience, forever changing how we understand the religions and aesthetics of Africa.” —Prita Meier, author of Swahili Port Cities: The Architecture of Elsewhere

Join us on IG @qabilafoundation for weekly reflections or email us your thoughts directly. We’d love to hear from you!

Bay Area Chapter Online Auditions

Qabila Folkdance Company
Bay Area Chapter Online Auditions
Due by 1/8/21

Thank you for your interest in the Bay Area Folkdance Company Online Audition!

Folk dance brings people together, united in humanity. The Qabila Foundation is dedicated to sharing the joy and diversity of Arabic folk dance rooted on the 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 Arabic folk dance revolution!

We are looking for a diversity of team players with a genuine enthusiasm for learning and sharing Arabic culture through dance and music. Members are required to attend rehearsals on zoom every Sunday 11am-1pm, pay $20 monthly dues to help cover operational costs, and sign a 6 month contract. All activities will be virtual for the first 6 months most likely, and we will address in person options when safe to do so. Selected members will be notified Saturday January 9th to begin rehearsing with us Sunday January 10th.

To apply email qabilafoundation@gmail.com the following by January 8th, 2020~

• Dance resume including performer name and social media handles

• Headshot

• Write up explaining why you are interested in joining the Qabila Folkdance Company, what regions you have experience with, what regions you want to learn about more, and what additional skills would you like to contribute (ex. sewing skills, flyer design, etc)

• Video links of your performances of the following two combos:
  1. Saidi Combo
  Saidi Music file
  2. Lebanese Dabke Combo
  Lebanese Dabke Music file
  

Please do not send video files directly.

If you have any questions, email qabilafoundation@gmail.com.

Thank you again for your support and interest! Happy dancing!

Happy Holidays from Qabila!

Happy holidays from the Qabila Folkdance Co!!!

Seattle Chapter Debut Performance!

Our new Seattle Chapter was proud to have their debut performance as a part of Stefanie Mari’s “Evergreen Hafla”, a show dedicated to the Washington State bellydance community. We hope you enjoy this brand new performance created especially for film!

#passthefolk with Qabila

The Qabila Folkdance Company presents #passthefolk featuring Stefanie Mari, Alice Dee, Chloe Carrera, Preena Chand, Alia Gamal, Deborah Albin, Lori Anne Edwards, Sandee, Jen McDonald, Eemah, Imari, Yuliya Lunessia, and Aubre Hill.