Palestinian Dance Group 'Shoruq'

Denison University welcomes the Palestinian dance troupe Shoruq during their 2017 US Tour for an evening of traditional Debka dance. Shoruq is a troupe of 18 Palestinian teens, ages 12-16, from the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Palestine. The performance will be followed by a Q&A session to learn about the daily struggles of children living in a refugee camp. Shoruq Organization is an initiative of and for Palestinian refugees geared toward the social development of the community. Shoruq provides free legal aid and psychosocial support to refugee children; owns and operates a media center that offers training and equipment to help children, youth and professionals generate music, radio and video programming; and uses visual and performing arts to protect and develop their cultural heritage. Shoruq advocates for the Palestinian refugees who are deprived of their basic rights by the Israeli military occupation, poverty, and severe overcrowding. Shoruq is based in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, near Bethlehem, Palestine, where 13,000 refugees live crowded together in less than one square kilometer. But the work extends beyond the borders of one refugee camp, serving refugees in camps throughout Palestine. This event is sponsored by the Global Studies Seminar, the Provost’s Office, the Department of Dance, the Modern Languages Department, the International Studies program, the Women’s Studies program, the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Middle Eastern Cultural Organization and the Middle East Children’s Alliance.