Since mid-September, we have been dancing at the Neubad Cultural Center to various music styles – from Afghan wedding dance to European folk music to electronic dance music. The goal of DanceMix is to bring together people with different backgrounds through dance. The principle is simple: «Show me your dance, and I’ll show you mine.» Everyone is welcome, whether to dance or watch.

These are the dances we’ve danced the most so far:

Qataghani قطغنی: A dance named after the former Qataghan province in Northern Afghanistan. It is often danced at festivals like weddings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyvPoA9ceNE

Bandari بندری: A dance to Bandari music from southern Iran, influenced by African and Arab music. Various dance styles can be applied to it, and there’s a lot of room for improvisation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IHLNfcl93M

Balfolk: This refers to a series of dances primarily rooted in European folk traditions, accompanied by folk or neofolk music. From the Balfolk repertoire, we danced, among others, the Polka, Breton dances like An Dro and Hanter Dro, and the Branle de Noirmoutier from Vendée, France.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en9Eo6hU5rQ

In addition, participants spontaneously taught us dances from their countries, e.g., Kurdish dances or Arab Dabke, and we improvised and mixed.

After six weeks of TanzMix, we are taking a one-week break. Therefore, there will be no DanceMix on October 31st. We will resume on November 7th – a perfect time to join in.