Mondavi Center Presents
Al-Juthoor Dabke and Aswat Ensemble
Take Me to Palestine - خدني ع فلسطين
Sunday, April 26, 2026
2:00pm
Jackson Hall
Rooted in tradition and alive with momentum, Al-Juthoor (“Roots”) and Aswat Ensemble unite for a powerful evening of dabke, music, and storytelling. Drawing on dance and sound from Palestine and the Arab Levant/Bilad al-Sham, this collaboration affirms culture as something lived, shared, and carried forward.
On stage, grounded footwork meets driving rhythms and rich vocals in a charged exchange that transforms performance into a site of unity and voice. Structured in two movements—Resistance and Land Back—the performance moves from a powerful exploration of resistance to a vision of return and reclamation, honoring relationships to land, memory, and heritage.
Sponsored by
-
The Nancy and Hank Fisher Family Fund
Artist Bios
Al-Juthoor
Al-Juthoor
Al-Juthoor (“roots” in Arabic) is a Dabke dance collective rooted in Arab and Palestinian culture and resistance. Practiced across the Arab Levant (Bilad al-Sham), Dabke is both celebration and testimony. We empower community members and youth to embrace their heritage, honoring history while carrying it forward across the diaspora and back home. For Al-Juthoor, culture and art are inseparable from existence itself, serving as acts of resistance to oppression and settler colonialism. Our songs and movements carry the stories of our people and express our collective aspirations for dignity and liberation. Rooted in olive groves and villages, our art is inspired by the struggle and steadfastness of those who remain in the land despite ongoing dispossession. This commitment to culture as resistance naturally extends beyond our own community. We recognize connections between struggles across history and borders, and seek partnerships with other artistic and cultural projects aligned with our mission. Through our work in the diaspora, we collaborate with Indigenous peoples and communities of all backgrounds who use art as a tool for justice and liberation. None of us are free until we all are. WE WILL RETURN!
To learn more about Al-Juthoor Dabke, visit our website at aljuthoordabke.org and find them on Instagram @aljuthoor.dabke
Links
Aswat Ensemble
Aswat Ensemble
Aswat Ensemble is a collective of musicians and singers, of all ethnicities, who present pan Middle Eastern music to the Bay Area community. Aswat Ensemble’s parent non-profit organization, Zawaya, stands at the intersection of culture, art, cultural preservation, and social justice and seeks to contribute to the Bay Area’s multicultural discourse with Arab arts. Zawaya means “aspects” or “corners,” suggesting the many art forms to be discovered and enjoyed in Arab culture. It was founded in 2003 by Nabila Mango and Haya Shawwa Ben-Halim, two Arab-American women who recognized that the challenges faced by the Bay Area Arab-American community required a creative response. With Zawaya, they sought to give the Arab community a voice, including a musical one. Aiming to address stereotypes and misconceptions, Zawaya offers a genuine image of Arab Americans and their rich civilization, which can only be a source of strength for American society.