Donate today to help El-Funoun continue their 45-year legacy of Palestinian cultural resistance and liberatory, groundbreaking art.
Members of the premiere dance group in Palestine, El-Funoun Dance Troupe, will offer a special performance and presentation about dabke as a form of cultural preservation and resistance.
Dabke, the traditional Palestinian dance form performed at weddings and other celebrations, is the foundation of El-Funoun’s innovative dance style. The dancers will discuss the history of El-Funoun as a vital Palestinian cultural institution and the challenges the troupe and its members face in sustaining cultural production and performance amidst a military occupation aimed at silencing, suppressing, and erasing Palestinian society and culture.
After the presentation, audience members will be invited to learn dabke dance steps, participate in a traditional dabke circle, and meet with the dancers. The performance and workshop will be followed by a reception with food and drinks.
About El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe:
For 45 years, El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe has been preserving, promoting, and reimagining Palestinian culture. Established in 1979 by a small group of artists, the Troupe today comprises close to 300 volunteer members. The Troupe is committed to dance education, running its own dance school and youth troupe, Barem El-Funoun, in Palestine and conducting dabke training in Palestine and around the world. Through its work, El-Funoun aims to challenge oppression and resist Israel’s attempts at cultural erasure. The Troupe is currently working on their seventeenth major production, Zaff, about life in a refugee camp.
El-Funoun refuses conditional funding from international aid agencies and aid from organizations that have failed to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which has had significant material consequences.
Archives: Shows
Climate Ring
During Climate Week NYC, Swissnex and Performance Space New York present a pop-up boxing arena for the fight of the century: the one for the planet. Over 12 rounds of discussions, exhibitions, and performances, the Climate Ring showcases Swiss and global rising stars and heavyweights from science, innovation, and the arts. From architecture, mobility, and tech solutions to the ways we speak, eat, and dress, the Climate Ring will take on the myriad challenges of combating climate change and healing our planet. Highlights include exhibitions of climate-focused fashion and art from Geneva University of Art and Design and Zurich University of the Arts, a walking tour in collaboration with Swiss Institute and Storefront for Art and Architecture, and a closing reception hosted by fixtures of NYC nightlife Susanne Bartsch and Gage Spex, with a performance by drag wrestling collective Choke Hole.
The Climate Ring draws on the metaphor of boxing as inspiration for the fight against climate change. Boxing epitomizes the determination and perseverance needed in the fight for the planet, while also evoking the vulnerability of the communities and ecosystems enduring the strongest impacts of climate change. The Climate Ring celebrates the strength, joy, and community that can be found in the fight for a better future, from athletes struggling for civil rights to New York’s LGBTQ+ communities fighting for acceptance, to our common fight for a livable planet.
TRANSA: A Celebration
Performances by: Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Anajah, Green-House, Niecy Blues, Joy Guidry, Asher White, Eli Winter, Time Wharp, SKY, Jamal Shakeri, Nsámbu Za Suékama, More Eaze.
The tradition of gathering for live musical performances threads together all of Red Hot’s projects since the first compilation in 1990, when the album Red Hot + Blue uplifted queer culture amid the grief and compassion fatigue of the AIDS crisis. Art and joy was key to survival then. And it is now. TRANSA: A Celebration heralds the 46-track album celebrating trans artistry with appearances by the project’s innovative contributors who guide listeners through a deeply spiritual sonic journey. At this event, you’ll hear songs from TRANSA performed live in the same spirit that gave shape to the recordings in advance of the album’s November 22nd release.
It takes time for new worlds to be born – time and space and slow, sustained belief. It takes courage to grieve the worlds that died before this moment, and those that might have arrived but never did. TRANSA, the new compilation from storied activist music production organization Red Hot, spotlights the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. It also softens the edges of the world we know, and invokes powerful dreams of the futures that might one day thunder from its cracks. – Sasha Geffen
—Masks are required for this event
—The event line-up may change, and all ticket sales are final. Refunds will not be available for this event. Thank you for your support!
THE PORTAL: Opening Pathways to New and Forgotten Realities
Venture into “The Portal,” a gateway to alternate realities, justice, release, and fantasy. Luke Stewart and Kayla Farrish will guide us through an improvisational journey of music and dance, forging dynamic arcs and eruptions that challenge our perceptions of what could be. This event will open spaces to our portals, slipping into new futures while holding tethers to our pasts. Engage with the energy of transformation and possibility as we collectively explore the intersections of time, space, and the boundless potential of our imaginations.
A Ritualistic Conversation
This unique conversation, led by Kyle Kidd and Joy Guidry, transcends traditional dialogue by incorporating movement, songs, affection, and divine love. As participants, you will witness and partake in a ceremonial journey that baptizes the soul, carrying and tarrying for newfound understandings of self. This event will unfold as a living expression of the truth, “In this truth I live, move, and have my being,” creating a space of profound connection and revelation.