Badke(remix)
Ten Palestinian dancers appropriate the dabke – the folk dance traditionally reserved for (wedding) celebrations – and transform it into a contemporary, exuberant expression of zest for life and togetherness. Badke(remix) is dance as a collective act of resistance.
A remix is an edited version of an existing music track. Badke(remix) is a reworking of the dance performance featuring ten Palestinian dancers that toured worldwide between 2013 and 2016, created by Koen Augustijnen, Rosalba Torres, and Hildegard De Vuyst. The reissue is now artistically in Palestinian hands, specifically those of Amir Sabra and Ata Khatab.
The dancers have backgrounds in traditional dabke, contemporary dance, hip hop, capoeira, and circus. Together, they build a collective physicality that is rarely found in contemporary dance, with its emphasis on individuality. At the heart of social dabke lies something unique: an affirmation of belonging that the dancers show to the world with pride.
But Badke(remix) is not a quest for a supposedly lost authenticity. How much contemporary information can the dabke handle? How flexible is the tradition? And how can you question the folk dance without driving the people away? Through the festive surface, another reality penetrates – yet in the end, the thought prevails: we are not going to be defeated. We dance until we drop.
It is as if we are present at a wedding party, where ten exquisite dancers, fully dedicated, appropriate the dance with frenzied energy and infectious joy.
– Guy Duplat, La Libre
The ten dancers move with a physical surrender that is raw and relentless, and yet also carefully attuned to the collective. … A collective heartbeat that refuses to fall silent.
– Aïcha Mouhamou, Etcetera
