About Us:
El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe
P.O.Box: 4145, El-Bireh, Palestine
Tel: (+972) 2 240-2853
Fax: (+972) 2 240-2851
Email:info@el-funoun.org
Contact Person:
Khaled Katamesh - Director
El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe was established in 1979 by a small number of enthusiastic, talented and committed artists. Since then, El-Funoun has been throned as the lead Palestinian dance company. In Palestine, as well as among Palestinians in exile, El-Funoun has achieved an unprecedented popular recognition; in fact, quite a few of the Troupe’s songs and dances have become household tunes.
Since its inception, El-Funoun has aimed at expressing the spirit of Arab-Palestinian folklore and contemporary culture through unique combinations of traditional and stylized dance and music. The Troupe’s repertoire comprises folkloric dance forms, called “dabke”, in addition to more elaborate choreographed forms that embody El-Funoun’s own unique vision of Palestinian dance.
El-Funoun is widely recognized as the cultural entity that has played the most significant role in reviving and reinvigorating Palestinian dance and music folklore. This accomplishment is particularly important, since it effectively countered the systematic attempts by the Israeli occupation to suppress the Palestinian national identity through banning or expropriating any forms of Palestinian cultural expression.
El-Funoun is composed of seventy-five dancers, singers, musicians and support personnel. It is an independent, non-profit organization that is virtually entirely volunteer-based. The members are therefore motivated by the vision of the Troupe more than by any other factor. This not only keeps the Troupe’s administrative cost quite low, but also ensures a strong sense of belonging to and ownership of the group. This resolve, coupled with a driving commitment to artistic excellence and an authentic Palestinian vision have all afforded El-Funoun its current leadership status.
In Palestine, the Troupe holds an impressive track record of over one thousand performances since 1979, including its very well attended performances in Palestine International Festivals of 1992 through 1999. Moreover, El-Funoun has participated in the following:
- US Tour (15 cities) in 1986
- US Tour (20 cities) in 1991
- Jerash International Festival, Jordan in 1994
- Jerusalem Festival, United Arab Emirates in 1995
- Raatvick International Folklore Festival, Sweden in 1996
- Babylon International Festival, Iraq in 1996
- Expo 98 Lisbon in Portugal 98
- US Tour (5 cities) in 1999
- France Tour (5 festivals) in 1999
- Egyptian Opera House, Cairo in 1999
- Lebanon Tour (5 performances) 2000
- Expo 2000 Hannover in Germany 2000
- United Arab Emirates in 2001
- Egyptian Opera House, Cairo in 2003
- Ribat Festival, Morocco in þ2004þþ
- Rhythm Diversity, Malta in 2004
- Corpi Sensibili Festival, Italy in 2005
- Busra International Festival, Syria in 2005
- Bahrain International Music Festival, Bahrain in 2005
- US Tour (3 cities) in 2005
- US Tour (4 cities) in 2006
- UK, London in 2007
- St. Plolten, Austria 2007
- Vienna, Austria 2007
- Berlin, Germany 2008
- Vlaardingen, Holland 2008
El-Funoun played a key role in establishing the Popular Art Centre, a community organization committed to raising awareness about the arts, and opening opportunities for community members to participate in artistic activity and expression. The Centre offers classes in traditional dance, ballet, jazz, music, puppets and drama, in addition to a host of other programs. Through the Centre, El-Funoun’s message has propagated to many schools, organizations and localities.
El-Funoun has won several commendation certificates and awards, most prominent among which is the Palestine Award for Popular Folklore 1997, the highest honour award given in this field by the Palestinian Authority. In addition, El-Funoun's dance film "Emotional Rescue" directed by the German Director Helena Waldmann, won a special prize as part of Al-Jazeera film festival 2006.
El-Funoun believes in building cultural bridges with the world, both to have a healthy exchange of experience, ideas and techniques and to present the long-suppressed Palestinian culture before other nations.
