My Journey
About
Samer Raya
Dancer, Choreographer & Cultural Entrepreneur
Samer Raya is a farmer, Palestinian dancer, and choreographer from Saffa, west of Ramallah, with dabke as his foundational dance practice. Founder of Street Dabke and performer with El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe and BADKE REMIX, he works across folk and contemporary practices rooted in land, memory, and collective movement.
His work is shaped by the rhythms of land and farming, the communal energy of night weddings, and his extensive experience with El-Funoun, with whom he has performed, taught, and choreographed internationally since 2010.
Street Dabke is a participatory movement project that brings Palestinian folk dabke into public and community spaces through simple, accessible workshops inspired by the atmosphere of weddings and social gatherings. The practice is flexible and can happen anywhere — in studios, parks, streets, and public spaces — inviting anyone to join, learn the rhythm, and feel the collective energy of the dance.
Samer is also a founding member of Ard El-Ya's, a community-based agricultural cooperative in Safa village that practices organic farming and encourages reconnection with the land. In addition to his artistic work, he is the co-owner of Ka2nu Beit, a community-oriented restaurant in Ramallah.
His artistic philosophy centers on the belief that movement carries memory — that the body remembers the land, the stories, and the people who shaped it. Through his work, he aims to expand dabke beyond its traditional form, create spaces for collective exploration, and build projects that bring together dance, heritage, and community building.
Contact
Samerraya77@gmail.com
+1 244 631 2389
Handala Troupe Dabka
Trainer & Choreographer, Safa Village
I joined the troupe in 2008 as a school student, along with a group of boys and girls. What started as a summer camp focused on dabke grew into a long journey that continued until 2021.
During these years, I worked not only as a dancer but also as a trainer and choreographer. Handala became a space for experimentation, learning, and growth where the first seeds of my ideas about movement and research in dabke began to take shape.
El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe
Dancer & Choreographer
I joined El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe in 2010. For me, El-Funoun was a window to the world, a new way of seeing life. It was an environment full of creativity, and one of the most important lessons I learned there was how to love life and how to give without expecting anything in return.
This philosophy deeply influenced my presence on stage and my approach to choreography. My main role in El-Funoun was as a dancer, though I also occasionally contributed to choreography in several artistic works.
One of the most important projects for me within El-Funoun was Dabke Language. Through this project, my understanding of movement and its origins expanded, and it pushed me to think more deeply about my own movement identity. It also led me to question Palestinian dance in a broader sense, and dabke in particular, asking how it can express our individual emotions and reflect our contemporary daily lives.
The Rooster
2016 · Dancer
The Rooster is a Palestinian/Lebanese production, influenced by dabke folk dance, conveying the social and political experience of the region through the character of Al-Deek, the Rooster. The piece features music by El-Funoun and Syrian poetry by Nizar Qabbani, and uses the characteristics of Al-Deek to examine chauvinism and dictatorship.
Badke Remix
Dancer
A remix is an edited version of an existing song. Badke(remix) is a remake of the dance performance with 10 Palestinian dancers that toured worldwide between 2013 and 2016, created by Koen Augustijnen, Rosalba Torres and Hildegard De Vuyst. The reissue of Badke is now artistically in Palestinian hands, namely Amir Sabra and Ata Khatab, and becomes Badke(remix).
The title is a conscious reversal of dabke, the name of the Palestinian folk dance and the starting point of the performance. With backgrounds in traditional dabke, contemporary dance, hip-hop, capoeira or circus, the Palestinian performers bring a contemporary version of this dance that is traditionally reserved for (wedding) parties. Badke(remix) displays a zest for life and passion for dancing as a form of resistance.
