Uniting in Culture

Maysoon Zayid

Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, actress, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and a Princeton Fellow. Maysoon is the co-founder/co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She was a full-time On-Air Contributor to Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a columnist for The Daily Beast. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, ABC News, and Oprah Winfrey Networks.

As a professional comedian, Maysoon has sold out top New York clubs and has toured extensively at home and abroad. She was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Together Live Tour.

Nizar Rohana

Nizar Rohana is an acclaimed Palestinian Oud player, distinguished for combining virtuosity within fresh contemporary compositions while maintaining the Oud’s idiomatic language.

Together with his trio, comprised of himself on oud, Tony Overwater on double bass, and Ruven Ruppik on percussion, he performs an original repertoire that extends Arabic and Middle Eastern tradiEons while also drawing from a wide range of other sources, such as jazz and Western classical music.

Tony Overwater is an award-winning bass player whose disEncEve sound and unique playing style have established him as a prominent figure in the European music scene. A remarkable solo performer and leader of his own projects, he is also a collaborative and attentive sideman. Overwater is particularly noted for his pioneering work in Arab music. He has collaborated with a range of notable artists, including the renowned Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich, as well as the late Said Chraibi, the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio, Yuri Honing, Kayhan Kalhor, and Hussein Alizadeh.

Percussionist Ruven Ruppik specializes in various traditional music styles, drawing inspiraEon from the interweaving of different musical cultures. His sound is shaped by influences ranging from Flamenco, Mediterranean music, and Ottoman music to Latin and Brazilian styles. He has collaborated with a wide array of renowned artists, including Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Estrella Morente, Paco Peña, Kudsi Erguner, and Nai Barghouti.

Dabke Night

Dabke is a popular folk dance from countries as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq and is performed at weddings, parties and other festive occasions. Dabke differs, from country to region, from city to village. It is also known for being part of the (Palestinian) resistance movement for decades.

Dabke Night is a foundation that has been organising dabke parties, lessons and workshops in the Netherlands and abroad for over 7 years with a diverse team of Palestinian, Dutch and Syrian dancers.