El-Funoun Dance Troupe Dabke Workshop

Dancers from the El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe will be touring the United States in August 2025 to carry out a series of dabke workshops for beginners and advanced dancers. These gatherings promise to provide an inspiring opportunity for participants to learn more about Palestinian dabke, develop dabke skills, and make connections with community members. Further, they will support the work of a vital Palestinian cultural institution to remain steadfast in the face of overwhelming attempts by Israel to silence, suppress and erase Palestinian society and culture.

About El-Funoun
Widely considered the lead Palestinian dance company in Palestine and the diaspora, El-Funoun was established in 1979 by a small group of enthusiastic, creative and committed artists. The Troupe has developed an innovative style of dance deeply-rooted in Palestinian and Arab folklore and informed by elements of contemporary dance movement. The Troupe’s repertoire includes 16 major dance productions and over 1,500 performances throughout historic Palestine, regionally, and internationally. In Palestine, El-Funoun has developed a school for contemporary Palestinian dance, training hundreds annually. It has carried out dabke workshops throughout the West Bank, in the Arab world and internationally.

El-Funoun is a non-profit, almost fully volunteer based dance company with 267 members. Committed to its core principles of cultural resistance, El-Funoun has continuously refused to accept conditional funding from international aid agencies. During the current genocidal attack on Gaza, El-Funoun has refused funding from international aid agencies that have failed to call for a ceasefire. The dance company is working towards becoming fully self-sufficient by raising funds through its dance productions and dance training workshops.

Meet the El-Funoun Instructors

Noora Baker
Noora Baker is a director, choreographer, and trainer and has been a member of El-Funoun since 1987, when she joined its youth troupe, Barem. Noora is currently El-Funoun’s head of production, choreographing and directing various projects, and she co-directed its most recent production, Asheera. She is also an international performer and maker, and has worked collaboratively with artists such as Yoshiko Chuma and André Gingras.

Noora is a co-founder and member of CACTUS performance art collective and has worked on several projects regionally and internationally. She is a lecturer in the College of Arts, Music and Design at Birzeit University. She received an MA in performance making from Goldsmiths University of London and a BA in business administration from Birzeit University.

Samer Karajah
Samer Karajah started his dance career with the Handala Dabke Troupe in the village of Saffa before becoming a member of El-Funoun in 2010. Samer is one of the principal dancers, instructors and choreographers in the Troupe. He has co-choreographed El-Funoun’s The Rooster, Asheera, and its upcoming production Zaff. He has also conducted a number of dabke workshops in Palestine and internationally.

Samer holds a BA in Business Administration from Birzeit University in Palestine. In addition to his work with El-Funoun, he is a co-owner of a restaurant, an entrepreneur, and a farmer. He is inspired as an artist by developing dance informed by natural movements found in everyday life.