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Dance and music groups from the Palestinian community inside the 'Green Line' have always been an important feature of the Palestine International Festival. This cultural connection and exchange, in spite of the border between us, continues to grow. Each night the Festival travels on a symbolic journey through Palestine, from south to north, and each night one city is chosen as the Festival 'venue' - Beersaba, Gaza, Asqalan, Jaffa, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus, Nazareth and Acre.
This year we are delighted to host from the Galilee four groups - Al-Baath Choir from Shafa Amr, Al-Majd Dance Troupe from Nazareth, Yoad Choir from A-Rama, and Shahrazad Dance Troupe from Kufr Yasseef.
Last night, Al-Majd Dance Troupe gave an inspiring performance. The group started out as a folk dance troupe and has developed into a popular arts group performing traditional dabke dance, poetry and theatre.
Established by Nazareth municipality's Al-Majd Club in 1993, Al-Majd's membership now numbers 35 young men and women. Its most recent production, 'The Old Man', is filled with folkloric and artistic images that reflect Palestinian rootedness in the homeland based on the experiences of those who remained on their land after 1948.
The group has performed in nine local and international festivals and is currently preparing for a European tour.
On Saturday 29 June the Yoad Choir with Nidaa music group and Shahrazad Dance Troupe will perform selections from their new musical production 'Qatr an-Nada'. Yoad began in 1982 in A-Rama village in the Nazareth area by performing songs by Marcel Khalifeh and Al-Asheqeen group. Later their 35 singers performed songs with music composed by their artistic director Nabil Azar. Yoad received first prize in the National Song competition in Nazareth in 1986, produced their first tape in 1987, and toured the UK in 1989. This year the group, in cooperation with the Nidaa music group and Shahrazad dance group, have been working on a musical production of Samih al-Qassem's epic poem, 'Qatr an-Nada'.
Shahrazad Dance Troupe Shahrazad Dance Group is part of the Kufr Yasseef municipal cultural centre in the Galilee. The group consists of 20 dancers supervised by choreographer Irina Jammal. Over the past twelve years they have performed on more than 200 occasions. Linked to the group is a ballet, modern and traditional dance school whose most talented graduates join the group. Its repertoire consists of classical ballet pieces and popular dances to the music of Fairouz, Majida al-Roumi, and Palestinian folkloric songs. The group received an award for original choreography at the Ukraine Dance Festival in 1994.
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