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Bara’em El-Funoun

Bara’m, means “buds” in Arabic, hence indicating the young generation to carry on the tradition.  The group was established by El-Funoun in 1986 to promote Palestinian-Arab cultural identity and to counter the marginalization and alienation of Palestinian children and youth through music and dance expression.

Members of Bara’em, who are mainly recruited from Ramallah and Al-Bireh area, are all volunteers who are committed to the group’s mission. They are the future of El-Funoun dancers guaranteeing the Troupe’s continuity and artistic excellence.   Comprising of 42 dancers (both females and males) ages 9 – 18, the dancers are carefully selected by El-Funoun choreographers according to their artistic talent and promising devotion to learn and develop. They are trained by El-Funoun on its main dances and on various dance forms.

Bare’em El-Funoun is considered today the incubator where members express themselves, and seek to develop intellectually, and artistically. They are exposed to various learning and sharing experiences through dance; this contributes to their building efficient, aware and initiating positive character in their own communities at their schools and families. Bara’em El-Funoun provokes their innovative skills in addition to enhancing their awareness to their national and cultural identity.

Moreover, they participate in the overall cultural development of Palestinian society by presenting dances that express hope, resilience, challenge to oppression, and stereotypes. It performs dances (choreographed by El-Funoun) that are inspired by dabke (Palestinian-Arab folk dance), yet are reflective of the present life of Palestinians. Bara’em won the prestigious First Prize in the 1999 Children’s Dabke Festival, organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

Bare’em already has a rich track record of two major productions and hundreds of performances locally and internationally:

  • Copenhagen, Denmark 2009

  • UAE (Abu Dhabi & Sharja) 2007

  • USA Tour (4 cities) 2006

  • Amman, (2 performances) 2006

  • USA Tour (3 cities)  2005

  • Represented Palestine in Beirut at the UNESCO conference, 2004

  • Represented Palestine in Qatar Summer Wonders  Festival Of Fun 2003

  • Represented Palestine in New Modania Festival in Greece, 2002

  • Represented Palestine in its first international appearance, at the Internationales Folkloriques Enfantined de Saint-Maixent L’Ecole festival in France, in 2001

  • Performed before audiences of all ages in several Palestinian cities, most notably in the Palestine International Festival held in Birzeit and Ramallah

  • Performed in the April Blossoms Children’s Festival, held in Ramallah in 1995, before thousands of children who came from areas throughout the West Bank , Many of those children had never until then seen a live dance performance

  •  Several of its members teach dabke to other children in community centers and schools.

  • Opening of the first production “Palestinian Vista”, fall 2002

  • Opening of the second production “ Raqsit Shamis”, summer  2006

Raqsit Shamis (Dance of the Sun) 2006

A dance production inspired by timeless Arab-Palestinian heritage that strikes a delicate balance between modernity and heritage. Raqsit Shamis blends themes of love, harvest, praying for rain, nostalgia, flirtation and defiance.  Based on major repertoire by El-Funoun, its music has been re-arranged and dance has been re-choreographed for this production which mainly addresses the young generation of Palestine. Raqsit Shamis aims at sharing Palestine’s cultural dynamism with the world and contributing to Palestinian emancipation and social progress

Prepared and produced by: El-Funoun Dance Troupe

Music: Tarek An-Nasser (based on folkloric tunes)

Choreography: Noora Baker, Omar Barghouti, Khaled Qatamesh

Palestinian Folk Vista 2002

Since its establishment in 1986, Bara’em El-Funoun has performed dozens of folkloric dances on many different occasions and festivals. However, this production is considered Barae’m El-Funoun’s first production. “Palestinian Folk Vista” is a folklore-based dance show, which couples authentic musical and story-telling themes from traditional Arab-Palestinian culture with creative artistic expression through dance movements. Each dance carries an idea, a story, or a theme that the young performers can relate to and can convey to their audiences.

Prepared and produced by El-Funoun Dance Troupe

Choreography: Mohammad Ata, Lana Abu-Hijleh, Omar Barghouti, Maysoun Rafeedie, Reham Barghouti, and Khaled Qatamesh