<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4avVxo_1GxMPeye00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4avVxo_1GxMPeye00" width="1152" height="768" ></figure>Traditional middle eastern food, dress, and dance was brought to New Mexico State University for Discover Dabke, a dance workshop and cultural experience hosted by the Asian and Pacific Islander programs (API) on Oct. 23.The event started off with a dabke workshop, inviting attendees to learn how to do the traditional folk dance with Nabila Land, a Lebanon native and performance artist. The dance combines elements of line dancing and circle dancing, and includes stomping, hopping, and kicking to the tune of the music.“Dabke is a Middle Eastern and Levantine folk dance so it has origins to Egypt, the Middle East, Jordan, and it’s historically a folk dance, but also a social dance, meaning that it’s celebrated at weddings and things like that,” Ryan McMullen, NMSU’s Dance Program Coordinator, said. “It’s also transient, meaning that it kind of extends into different regions in the Middle East.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Exyq9_1GxMPeye00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Exyq9_1GxMPeye00" width="1152" height="768" ><figcaption>Dance instructor from California, Nabila Land, teaches Aggies the basics of the dabke. Oct. 23, 2026. ( Corey Preston )</figcaption></figure>Land describes the dance’s beginnings as a practical work custom from the Levant region, where workers used the stomping moves to flatten mud roofs.“In the ancient times, all of the houses did not have flat roofs, so they started to make it,” Land said. “They didn’t have any tools and wanted to make it flat from the rain … so [dabke] came from this.”After the workshop, the event continued with a Q&amp;A with Nabila Land, a solo cultural performance, and dinner catered by Yalla Falafel.During the Q&amp;A, Land answered questions about her performances, including the shows she has held in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, among other cities.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3RGKLT_1GxMPeye00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3RGKLT_1GxMPeye00" width="1152" height="768" ><figcaption>Many participants come from the Levantine region, where the dabke originated. Oct. 23, 2026. ( Corey Preston )</figcaption></figure>Arriving to the U.S. from Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War that took place from 1975-1990, Land stated she was told to be the ambassador of Lebanese culture.“I was crying when I came here because I’m famous in Lebanon and I have a tour here,” Land said. “I brought my group because I have a band and everything … before I came, [someone] told me ‘you are our ambassador outside of Lebanon.’ We had a war from 1975, but even in the war time, we were traveling, representing our culture, representing our heritage, and we are still alive.”The event was held by the API in collaboration with the NMSU Dance Program. Attendee Isa Erazo said the Middle Eastern style was unique to the Dance Program, which usually focuses on other styles like modern or Latin.“This style will probably never be shown here again, because we don’t have that population or the funding for a professor or somebody to come and invest in that,” Erazo said.For attendees, the workshop offered to experience a style of dance uncommon for the program. For Land, the workshop was also an opportunity to introduce attendees to Lebanon and a greater understanding of Middle Eastern Culture.“My message here is to teach everyone about our culture and raise cultural awareness, and help you to know us more; the language and the culture,” Land said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3kXeyW_1GxMPeye00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3kXeyW_1GxMPeye00" width="1152" height="768" ></figure></div></body>

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Traditional middle eastern food, dress, and dance was brought to New Mexico State University for Discover Dabke, a dance workshop and cultural experience hosted by the Asian and Pacific Islander programs (API) on Oct. 23. The event started off with a dabke workshop, inviting attendees to learn how to do...

Asian & Pacific Islander Program delves into dancing dabke

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Traditional middle eastern food, dress, and dance was brought to New Mexico State University for Discover Dabke, a dance workshop and cultural experience h

Asian & Pacific Islander Program delves into dancing dabke

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