| Palestinian Dreaming: Resistance and Joy December, 4th, 2005 Last Saturday night, I took my wife and 3 children to see the Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe, El-Funoun, for their one and only performance at an oversold packed house in Dearborn, Michigan. We had been anxiously waiting for more than a month for a rare chance to see these talented dancers perform here in the US. The dancers didn’t disappoint, they put on a world class, emotionally charged non stop show. While I watched the show, I kept peeking at my kids out of the corner of my eyes to see the expression on their faces. They were totally mesmerized by the talented dancers, their colorful costumes, and the music, which they were very familiar with. Even my 13 years old son, Omar, who had initially balked at having to go see “dancers”, was totally absorbed, smiling and clapping all throughout the show. As the show went on, and judging by the audiences enthusiasm and appreciation, I could not help but think of what the American public was missing out on by not being exposed to a side of Palestinians that is rarely shown or talked about in the mass American media which chooses to focus on violence, ignoring the much larger and more complex picture of Palestinians as a talented and diverse group of people who enjoy and practice the arts even under the most difficult of circumstances. In fact, they would be amazed to learn that as Palestinians continue to struggle for their legitimate rights and freedom, they resist their oppression at the hands of the Zionists in many diverse non-violent ways. Just by existing, living, crying, laughing, and yes, dancing, they are resisting the tyranny and oppression that has been hoisted on them for over 57 years. Mike Odetalla hanini.org Click on the images below to view pictures of El-Funoun's Performance |
| El-Funoun Performance Pictures |
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