As an Arab American from California, I was grew a diverse tastebud palate, a love for the beach vibes, and an Arab community that fosters our rich traditional culture. The Bay Area is home to many international communities including the diverse Arab community that houses every country from el Maghreb to el Khalej to el Sham, bringing together a mesh of similar but unique food, fashion, and dance! An Arab community that dabka’s together stays together. If you’re ever in the San Francisco Bay Area and in some need of heartwarming entertainment to take you back to the motherland, you’re gonna want to book Shabab Al Quds.
Shabab Al Quds was started unintentionally at UC Davis by Ahmad Saleh, whose Palestinian friends would always ask him to teach them the “dabka.” Soon enough his love for Palestinian culture combined with his love for the dance transformed into a passion for choreography. He and a friend decided to start recruiting members –Falesteeenii ONLY –and taught them all styles of dabkehs from the Levant. Saleh expressed his feelings about the dance by telling us, “dabka is amazing because it can tell you history all on its own. Just watching people do dabka, I can tell you where they are from. Dabka from back home [Palestine] is what we perform and take pride in.”
As of now, the group is comprised of seven American-Palestinian students. They’ve performed for all types of audiences: at weddings, cultural festivals, university events, grad parties, and more. Their dabka routines range from 4-12 minutes and take on a mix of Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi dabka styles which make it an energetic experience for different audiences. Oh, and they also do Egyptian style zaffas!
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss out on 7 Things Females Who Can Dabke Are Tired of Hearing.
