Aug 30

Aug 30 "Learning دبكة" by Rachel Simroth

First, Dabke = دبكة

Dabke is a Levantine folk dance, mainly performed at weddings and other celebrations in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan. It is a mixture of circle dance and line dancing, with the majority of it being footwork as most of the time you are holding hands with the people next to you.

I have been dancing since I was three years old and competing since I was seven. I have taken dance in many styles: lyrical, contemporary, ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and hip hop. But had never taken a Dabke dance class before.

While abroad, I knew I wanted to find the opportunity to still dance, and Amideast pointed me in the direction of the Al Hannouneh Society For Popular Culture. Their Dabke Training Course was 50 JD for 2 1.5hr classes for 5 weeks. So I signed up.

A squat white brick building with a glass second floor is photographed at night. Lights illuminate the façade. — This is the building for the Al Hannouneh Society for Popular Culture. These training classes are only one of the many programs they offer. Here is their website: http://alhannouneh.org/en/home. Photo credit: Simroth, 2022.

I was so nervous going by myself for the first class. I walked into the waiting area, and the only kid that had arrived looked at me and went “hey!” I was a little caught off guard because I did not expect to hear any English. Turns out he lives in California but spends every summer in Amman. Small world.

There are 12 people in the class. One girl is from Saudi Arabia and another woman is from New York but is working here for the summer. The class is on the rooftop of their building next to the Sports City circle and it is taught entirely in colloquial Jordanian Arabic. Given the dialect and fast pace of the class, it is quite difficult for me to understand what the instructor and my classmates are saying most of the time. I definitely have picked up some new words though, and the girl from Saudi Arabia also speaks English so she will translate for me if I need it.

A line of young people in athletic clothes hold hands and stand with their right foot forward — Here is a picture from class one night! We have class up on the roof of their building. As you can see, the dance is done in a line, and we are tapping our feet up and down here. Photo credit: Simroth, 2022.

But, this is when it has become very important to pick up and understand body language, as I can still understand what is going on in the class. The instructor demonstrates the moves, and I follow along with what he is doing.

The music is made by the instructor with a tablah or it can also be called a durbakke. It is a small decorated hand-drum that is typically made of goat or fish skin stretched over the vase-shaped structure, with metal around one of the arms to produce different sounding beats.

In the very first class, the instructor pointed at me and said something in Arabic and gave me a thumbs up, so I assumed that he said I was doing a good job, so I said thank you in Arabic. Then the girl from Saudi Arabia who was standing next to me told me that he wanted me to come up in the front and demonstrate the dance moves to the entire class since I am doing them well. This was a very exciting moment (but also quite intimidating) !!!

A line of young people wearing athletic clothes hold hands and step forward — Here is another picture from class on a different day. You can see how the line is starting to move in a circle here, while still holding hands and moving our feet. This is a classic part of the Dabke dance. Photo credit: Simroth, 2022.

I have really enjoyed having this dance class as part of my weekly routine here in Amman. It simultaneously brings me back to my dance comfort zone but also pushes me out of my comfort zone by having it taught in Arabic and being a new style of dance.