UNEXPECTED LESSON 2: Dabke-Workshop
Nancy Naser Al Deen
Dance Workshop
© Nancy Naser Al Deen
As part of the "UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound” series, Nancy Naser Al Deen is hosting an open-air Dabke workshop for all levels. Dabke is a type of folk dance from Bilad al-Sham (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan). Through stamping, repetition, and circular and linear formations, Dabke creates a space for collective flow, celebration, and solidarity. The workshop will focus on Dabke styles practised in Baalbek, in Lebanon. Participants will learn basic steps and discover different styles, culminating in the formation of a Dabke circle.
The second part of the series “UNEXPECTED LESSON 2: Music as Resistance” is dedicated to music and dance practices as forms of resistance. Alongside the Dabke workshop with Nancy Naser Al Deen, DJ DumTak and Homaira will host a listening session called “Meshwar Mixtapes – Intro to Afghanistan”.
Visitor Information
The workshop will be held in English and is open to everyone.
Programme
UNEXPECTED LESSON 2: Music as Resistance
Sat, 01 August 2026
17 – 19 h: „LA PALABRE Space“ – Tea, Reading & Resting Room with artistic interventions*
17 h: „Meshwar Mixtapes – Intro to Afghanistan“ – Listening-Session with DJ DumTak & Homaira
Sun, 02 August 2026
17 – 19 h: „LA PALABRE Space“ – Tea, Reading & Resting Room with artistic interventions*
17 h: „Dabke-Workshop“ – Nancy Naser Al Deen
*The program at LA PALABRE Space is curated by Arantxa Ciafrino.
Cast
With
Nancy Naser Al Deen
Cast
With
Nancy Naser Al Deen
Biographies
Nancy Naser Al Deen ist eine in Baalbek geborene und in Berlin lebende multidisziplinäre Künstlerin. Ihre kollaborative Praxis untersucht Körper im Raum durch Architektur, Szenografie und Performance und thematisiert marginalisierte Körper. Nancy ist ausgebildete Dabke-Tänzerin.
Biographies
Nancy Naser Al Deen ist eine in Baalbek geborene und in Berlin lebende multidisziplinäre Künstlerin. Ihre kollaborative Praxis untersucht Körper im Raum durch Architektur, Szenografie und Performance und thematisiert marginalisierte Körper. Nancy ist ausgebildete Dabke-Tänzerin.
Further Information
The series UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound, which will take place from May 2026 to February 2027 at Radialsystem, explores the plural knowledge of dance, body, and sound. Interdisciplinary perspectives and practitioners from the African continent, the diaspora, and beyond will engage in dialogue with Berlin's dynamic dance scene.
The focus is on the social and political dimensions of dance, knowledge systems in music, the body as a living archive, movement as healing, a decolonial perspective on the body and dance, and a critical examination of global dance history. Performances, talks, listening sessions, and workshops transform knowledge into experience and movement.
The series kicks off with an opening program from May 24 to 27, 2026, centred around the solo performance “Somewhere At The Beginning” by Germaine Acogny, an icon of African contemporary dance, with workshops, talks, and the Berlin premiere of the documentary film “Germaine Acogny – Die Essenz des Tanzes.”
The series is curated by Isabel Raabe (artistic director) and Celina Baljeet Basra (co-curator) and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Mariama Diagne.
Programme
UNEXPECTED LESSON 2: Music as Resistance
Sat, 01 August 2026
17 – 19 h: „LA PALABRE Space“ – Tea, Reading & Resting Room with artistic interventions*
17 h: „Meshwar Mixtapes – Intro to Afghanistan“ – Listening-Session with DJ DumTak & Homaira
Sun, 02 August 2026
17 – 19 h: „LA PALABRE Space“ – Tea, Reading & Resting Room with artistic interventions*
17 h: „Dabke-Workshop“ – Nancy Naser Al Deen
*The program at LA PALABRE Space is curated by Arantxa Ciafrino.
Further Information
The series UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound, which will take place from May 2026 to February 2027 at Radialsystem, explores the plural knowledge of dance, body, and sound. Interdisciplinary perspectives and practitioners from the African continent, the diaspora, and beyond will engage in dialogue with Berlin's dynamic dance scene.
The focus is on the social and political dimensions of dance, knowledge systems in music, the body as a living archive, movement as healing, a decolonial perspective on the body and dance, and a critical examination of global dance history. Performances, talks, listening sessions, and workshops transform knowledge into experience and movement.
The series kicks off with an opening program from May 24 to 27, 2026, centred around the solo performance “Somewhere At The Beginning” by Germaine Acogny, an icon of African contemporary dance, with workshops, talks, and the Berlin premiere of the documentary film “Germaine Acogny – Die Essenz des Tanzes.”
The series is curated by Isabel Raabe (artistic director) and Celina Baljeet Basra (co-curator) and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Mariama Diagne.
Visitor Information
The workshop will be held in English and is open to everyone.
Credits
The series ‘UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound’ is supported by the LOTTO Foundation Berlin. In cooperation with the Betty Center for Movement Research in Dance Studies at LMU Munich. An event as part of the TALKING OBJECTS LAB.
Media partners Radialsystem: taz. die tageszeitung, tip Berlin, The Berliner.
Credits
The series ‘UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound’ is supported by the LOTTO Foundation Berlin. In cooperation with the Betty Center for Movement Research in Dance Studies at LMU Munich. An event as part of the TALKING OBJECTS LAB.
Media partners Radialsystem: taz. die tageszeitung, tip Berlin, The Berliner.
As part of the "UNEXPECTED LESSONS – Knowledges of Body and Sound” series, Nancy Naser Al Deen is hosting an open-air Dabke workshop for all levels. Dabke is a type of folk dance from Bilad al-Sham (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan). Through stamping, repetition, and circular and linear formations, Dabke creates a space for collective flow, celebration, and solidarity. The workshop will focus on Dabke styles practised in Baalbek, in Lebanon. Participants will learn basic steps and discover different styles, culminating in the formation of a Dabke circle.
The second part of the series “UNEXPECTED LESSON 2: Music as Resistance” is dedicated to music and dance practices as forms of resistance. Alongside the Dabke workshop with Nancy Naser Al Deen, DJ DumTak and Homaira will host a listening session called “Meshwar Mixtapes – Intro to Afghanistan”.
Cast
With
Nancy Naser Al Deen
Biographies
Nancy Naser Al Deen ist eine in Baalbek geborene und in Berlin lebende multidisziplinäre Künstlerin. Ihre kollaborative Praxis untersucht Körper im Raum durch Architektur, Szenografie und Performance und thematisiert marginalisierte Körper. Nancy ist ausgebildete Dabke-Tänzerin.
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