Dabke line dance

Also known as Dabke · Dabka

Dabke is a line dance of the Levant. Dancers link hands or arms and move along together behind a leader, driving the floor with strong stamps of the feet in time with a hand drum and a reed pipe.

Play the preview About this tradition

Dabke line dance: photograph by Lebanon Ministry of Tourism — Photo: Lebanon Ministry of Tourism, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Dabke line dance: the game in attract mode

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How to play

Four step lanes show the left foot, the right foot, a strong stomp and a crossing step.
Each mark that falls onto the line at the bottom is one step of the leader's pattern: make it as it arrives.
Every song is one phrase of the dance, played twice: learn it on the first round and make it crisp on the second.

Rules at a glance

The dance counts two beats to the bar and the pulse never changes.
Three phrases are included: three strong right-foot stomps after a run of alternating steps, a six-measure phrase with a crossing step, and a quick open-circle phrase with half-beat steps.
A step on the beat scores in full, a step close to it scores less, and an extra step costs a little.

About the tradition

Dabke takes its name from the Arabic word for stamping. It is danced in lines and half circles across the Levant at weddings, family gatherings and festivals, and each village and region keeps its own steps, led by the dancer at the head of the line.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Mesopotamia, Levant and Arabia.

Credits

Step patterns: World Heritage Games (original teaching patterns)
Photo: Lebanon Ministry of Tourism, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lebanese_Dabke_Nasser_Makhoul_Troupe.j

Get the app

Dabke line dance is one of 10 instruments and dances in the Music & Dance of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 10 instruments and dances in the app

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