Since 2023, the Dabke dance has been listed as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Lebanon, too, it is an integral part of every wedding, public holiday or family celebration and is deeply rooted in tradition. In his latest project, the Lebanese musician Waël Koudaih, also known as Rayess Bek, breathes new life into this dance and brings it into the present day with the help of synthesisers.
For the project, Rayess Bek has recorded well-known musicians who have sung and played familiar songs for him. During the concert, he will place these recordings in a new context through distortions and overlays. To complement this, artist and designer Joan Baz will transform the concert into an immersive experience with an impressive video show.
Incidentally, »dabke« translates as »stamping one’s feet on the ground« and alludes to the possible origins of this line dance: when many people in the region that is now Lebanon lived in mud-brick houses, the inhabitants had to climb onto the roofs at regular intervals to compact the loose mud. To do this, they would line up and stamp around on the roof in set rhythmic patterns – a practice from which the traditional dabke is believed to have evolved.
PERFORMERS
Wael Koudaih live electronics
Joan Baz video-montage
Rima Ben Brahim lighting design
PROGRAM
»Chayyel«
Traditional dabke music and dance reimagined in a contemporary form
An audiovisual and electronic improvisation
