Cabaret Loulou - Baladi dance archives

From Ghawazi to present solo sharqi, Cabaret Loulou Baladi Archives of Baladi Dance is a journey in time and in movement, telling the story of the evolution of Baladi* dance across a century of socio-political changes. Delving into its main legends, stories, art and context we reflect on the ambivalence around the "dancer figure", who embodies the times, negotiating identity between Colonial influences and Arabness, tradition and modernism of gender norms of women and their position in society and the public sphere.

Cabaret Loulou Archives of Baladi Dance is a performance and an invitation to embark on a journey- with movement as the guide - to celebrate the marginal (and contested) but central Baladi dance figures, in Arab culture, memory and the social imaginary.

*Baladi dance is the traditional dance form that is also known as Danza Arabe or Belly dance.

Rolly Dib is a Lebanese dancer and filmmaker. Based in Barcelona since 2023, she experiments with dance and film by deconstructing Baladi's dance form and exploring intersections with other music and dance genres. Her first short film "The Rooster" was selected and awarded at various international film festivals. In her latest project "Cabaret Loulou" Rolly deconstructs and reimagines the future of the Baladi dance form as it stretches across cultural, social and political influences. She also teaches Baladi Dance in Beirut and performs regularly in Barcelona.