Malikat al Dabke

The first all-women’s dabke troupe in the DC metro area

Malikat al Dabke (Queens of Dabke) is based in the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area, specializing in performing and teaching Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi dabke/chobi, and zaffe.

“We don’t do our art in isolation. We do our art to make sure people know that they can’t erase us.”

~ Fairouz Foty

Fairouz Foty, co-founder of Quartertonez Music School, was inspired to create a space through dabke for women based on a mutual love for dance and Arab/SWANA culture to spread its joy across generations. This space naturally developed into a collaborative, professional dance troupe, starting in January 2023, and is made up of dedicated Arab American women who work every day to preserve their identities through dabke and resist erasure and appropriation.

Each member of the group has over a decade of Dabke experience performing and teaching hundreds of students through volunteer and educational workshops. They have performed across the country (including DC, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Michigan), and helped to raise more than $87k to aid Palestinians through prominent organizations. They continue to dance to raise awareness of the Palestinian genocide and occupation, along with the reverberating effects it has on neighboring countries, through countless events and protests.

Some notable events and organizations that Malikat Al Dabke has performed for include The Kennedy Center, South African Embassy, Nicaraguan Embassy, Laylit, ADC, Interfusion Festival, PBS, The Black Cat, New York Arab Festival, New York Dabke Festival, James Baldwin Peace Concert, among many others. If you are interested in viewing some of the highlights of our various performances, please visit our Linktree, Instagram and TikTok.

Video credit: Malek Abuzenah