In 1986, El-Funoun established the Bara’em youth dance group to promote Palestinian-Arab cultural identity and to counter the marginalization and alienation of Palestinian children and youth through music and dance expression.
New Dance Production
"Raqsit Shamis"
"Raqsit Shamis" (Dance of the Sun)
A dance Production inspired by timeless Arab-Palestinian
heritage
Striking a delicate balance between modernity and heritage, contemporariness and roots, Raqsit Shamis aims at sharing Palestine’s cultural vigour with the world and contributing to Palestinian emancipation and social progress. Blending themes of love, harvest, praying for rain, nostalgia, flirtation and defiance, this gripping dance production performed by Bara’em, the youth group of Palestine’s leading dance company, El-Funoun, promises to capture the hearts of viewers in Palestine, the Arab world and beyond. Raqsit Shamis epitomizes transformative art, the art of hope, resistance, peace and equality under the sun.
Established by El-Funoun in 1986 to promote Palestinian-Arab cultural identity and to counter the marginalization and alienation of Palestinian children and youth through music and dance expression.
Comprises 42 dancers (both females and males), aged 9 – 18. The dancers are carefully selected by El-Funoun choreographers according to their artistic talent and promising devotion to learn and develop.
Participates in the overall cultural development of Palestinian society by presenting dances that express hope and challenge oppression, stereotyping and stagnation.
Performs dances (choreographed by El-Funoun) that are inspired by dabke (Palestinian-Arab folk dance), yet are reflective of the present life of Palestinians.
The members, who are mainly recruited from the Ramallah and Al-Bireh areas, are all volunteers who are committed to the group’s mission.
UAE (Abu Dhabi & Sharja) 2007
US Tour (4 cities) in 2006
Amman, (2 performances) 2006
US Tour (3 cities) in 2005
Represented Palestine in Beirut at the UNESCO conference, 2004.
Represented Palestine in Qatar Summer Wonders Festival Of Fun 2003.
Represented Palestine in New Modania Festival in Greece, 2002.
Represented Palestine in its first international appearance, at the Internationales Folkloriques Enfantined de Saint-Maixent L’Ecole festival in France, in 2001.
Won the prestigious First Prize in the 1999 Children’s Dabke Festival, organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.
Performed before audiences of all ages in several Palestinian cities, most notably in the Palestine International Festival held in Birzeit and Ramallah.
Performed in the April Blossoms children’s festival, held in Ramallah in 1995, before thousands of children who came from areas throughout the West Bank. Many of those children had never until then seen a live dance performance.
Several of its members teach dabke to other children in community centers and schools.
Opening of the first production “Palestinian Vista”, Fall 2002
Opening of the second production “ Raqsit Shamis”, Summer 2006
* Bara’em (Arabic for “buds”) is El-Funoun’s youth dance group
