Malek Andary: a dabkeh workshop at beirut art center

The dabkeh workshop with Malek Andary is the first of a series of workshops led by some of the performers of Xavier le Roy’s “retrospective” that was hosted by Beirut art center from September 22 to October 12, 2015. The series aims at sustaining the exchange momentum generated by “retrospective” and transmitting the performers’ experience of dance and performance to a wider audience.
During the three-day workshop, choreographer and dancer Malek Andary, one of the nine performers of “retrospective”, will be introducing the participants to dabkeh through an approach that addresses both the theory and the practice of the dance, all the while drawing on Malek’s recent experience with “retrospective”.

Beginners and professionals alike will be benefiting from Malek’s methodological approach to teaching dabkeh, as well as comprehensive information about the dance: its origins, rhythms, and costumes. The basic steps of different dabkeh types will be taught during the 9-hour workshop, including dalouna, houwwara and arja.