Experience an evening of traditional Iranian music, theatre and Palestinian dabka dance with Babak Aria and the Alrowwad Centre for Arts and Culture.
Babak Aria will play many instruments, including traditional Iranian string instruments, and will sing in English and Farsi. He is a singer, musician and composer from Iran who has been creating music with people from all over the world.
Alrowwad Centre for Arts and Culture will present The Camp’s Gate, a specially created show to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the centre, a powerful performance which brings together music, theatre and traditional Palestinian dabka dance to tell the story of the elderly Abu Ahmed and which uses evocative music and dance to recount Abu’s past and present, his displacement, life in a refugee camp and his hopes of freedom.
Alrowwad Centre for Arts and Culture was established in Aida refugee camp, Bethlehem in 1998. It is a not-for-profit organisation which strives to empower children and women by offering opportunities to develop skills in music, dance, theatre, photography and film-making. Alrowwad dancers have previously performed sell-out tours in the UK, USA and Europe. This tour is organised and supported by Friends of Alrowwad UK and Bethlehem Cultural Festival under their umbrella charity Friends of Bethlehem UK. Together they are welcoming six dancers from Alrowwad to the UK in December to undertake a nationwide tour showcasing the dancing talents of young people from Aida camp. The tour runs from 29th November to 9th December 2022. The festival is a celebration of the rich and diverse cultural scene in Palestine through music, theatre, film, cookery, dance, spoken word, architectural heritage and discussion.