March 10, 2007

Not Quite Ready to Dance the Dabke in Lebanon

By Rick Moran
The traditional folk dance of Lebanon is called the Dabke, or literally "stomping of the feet" - a descriptive that refers to the communal nature of the dance and the fact that it is most often performed at joyous occasions like weddings. As in other traditional folk dances like the Jewish Hora, it's purpose is to unite the celebrants with feelings of nationhood while drawing on the emotional power of the community and family.For the Lebanese people, who have endured 3 months of being on the edge of civil war, teetering over the abyss while the politicians have exchanged bitter and personal denunciations of each other, recent events have given them hope that soon, the political impasse that has led to strife and bloodshed will be broken and they can dance the dabke with abandon.Yesterday, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri of the opposition Amal Party sat down with Said Hariri, leader of the majority March 14th coalition for talks aimed at resolving the crisis. What made...(Read Full Article)