Our Mission
To unify USF students through the celebration of traditional Levantine dabke dance.
To unify USF students through the celebration of traditional Levantine dabke dance.
- No experience required; ALL experience levels welcome!
- Fun, engaging practices
- Great cardio and leg workout
- Unique involvement
- Cultural appreciation Performance opportunities (not required)
Dabke is a traditional wedding dance that originates from the Levant, a region containing the Arab countries Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine (also known as Bilad il-Sham). "Dabke," pronounced deb-key or deb-ka (دبكة), is an Arabic word meaning "to stomp." As you can guess by its name, this dance is a series of energetic stomps and kicks, and it is performed in a line while holding others' hands or shoulders.
Dating back thousands of years, dabke carries great cultural significance—especially for Palestine, as it is an important symbol of Palestinian resistance. It represents unity and shared struggle (hence why the dance is performed in a packed line with hands linked).
Although dabke is specific to Levantine culture, anyone can learn it and participate in the dabke line! We are all humans with unique stories and struggles, and dabke is an amazing way to come together admist our differences to focus on the things we share. So who can dabke? YOU can dabke!
"But I don't know how!"
"It looks hard!"
"I'm not a dancer!"
If you can kick and stomp, you can dabke!
