First Fortnight Festival
Within this Party is a unique improvisational dance performance blending the traditional Palestinian Dabke and Hip-hop to explore themes of connection and resilience.
Created by Palestinian dance maker Amir Sabra, co-founder of dance company Stereo48, the performance brings a fresh perspective on cultural identity through movement. Amir’s journey spans international collaborations with Les Ballets C de la B, Pokemon Crew, and Catherine Young Dance, among others. As a recipient of the Technical Prize for Danse Élargie 2022 in Paris and a commissioned artist of Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company, Amir’s work embodies personal and collective expression, making Within this Party a powerful exploration of heritage and the universal language of dance.
PERFORMED BY Amir Sabra
TICKETS €11
RUNNING TIME 15 mins
About First Fortnight:
First Fortnight is a charity that challenges mental health stigma through arts and cultural action.
First Fortnight hosts an annual mental health, arts and culture festival throughout January, throughout Ireland. The festival celebrates the arts as a powerful catalyst for sparking unscripted conversations around mental ill health and serves to challenge the stigma associated with mental ill-health. The festival aspires to make the beginning of each year synonymous with mental health awareness, actively challenging societal prejudices, and eradicating the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health.
Amir Sabra is a Palestinian dancer and choreographer, currently based in Ireland. He completed his Masters degree in Contemporary Dance and Performance from the University of Limerick. In 2017, he started his choreography career with his first piece “Hiphopgeez”, produced by Stereo48 Dance Company. In 2019, Sabra choreographed the piece “Journey to Jerusalem”. In 2020, he directed the short dance film “False Awakening”, and in 2022 created his first solo “within this party”. He started as a break-dancer in 2008 and then joined Hawaieh dance group where they represented Palestine in several dance contests in Denmark, Belgium, and Jordan. In 2015, he joined the Belgium-Palestinian dance piece “Badke”, a co-production between Les Ballets C de la B (Ghent), KVS (Brussels), and A.M Qattan Foundation (Ramallah). In 2017 he worked as a dancer and rehearsal manager with Ya Samar Dance Theatre in their co-production with the A.M Qattan Foundation “Everyday Dance in Everyday Spaces”. In 2019, he was a dancer in “Imprint” by the Pokemon crew from France. In 2021 he performed in “Floating on the Dead Sea” by Catherine Young Dance in Ireland. He worked with Liz Roche Dance Company in 2023 in “Kindred” and Partita.