What Is Samah Dance? From Dhikr Circles to the Stage

Samah is a form of collective rhythmic dance characterised by the coordination of footwork, hand movements, and group formations with the rhythms of muwashshahat (traditional Arabic musical compositions) and vocal chanting. Its performance relies on harmony among the dancers and precise coordination of movement.

In his 1996 book Samah and Dabke Dance: History and Documentation, Adnan bin Dharil describes the art form as a dignified and restrained collective performance, governed by a structured system of steps, movements, and coordinated formations.

Samah extends beyond physical expression or theatrical spectacle. It is built upon an intricate relationship between music and bodily movement, in which dancers' steps and gestures intertwine with musical rhythms to create organised group formations. Historically, this choreographic tradition has been associated with Andalusian and Aleppine muwashshahat, as well as religious chanting, establishing its presence within the musical and Sufi traditions of the Levant.

Accounts of its origins vary. Some traditional sources attribute the formalisation of Samah to Sheikh Aqil al-Manbiji, who died in 550 AH (1155–1156 CE), while other accounts suggest that the dance evolved gradually within Aleppo's musical and chanting traditions.

In his book Notable Figures of Literature and Art, historian Adham al-Jundi traces Samah to ancient devotional practices associated with certain Sufi orders. He also attributes the organisation of what he calls "social Samah dance" to Sheikh Aqil al-Manbiji and highlights the role of Sayyid Ahmad Aqil, known as the "Master of Samah," in documenting its rules and transmitting them to musicians in Aleppo.

As for its name, some accounts link the term Samah (permission) to the practice of seeking authorisation from a Sufi sheikh or the leader of a dhikr (remembrance of God) circle before beginning the dance. Participants would repeatedly chant, "Al-Samah, Al-Samah" ("Permission, permission"), until the sheikh signalled that they could begin. The Arabic Encyclopedia records this tradition alongside another interpretation, which associates the name with the dance being considered permissible under certain religious and social conventions.

Samah in the Cultural Memory of the Levant

Some of the earliest written references to Samah date back to the nineteenth century. In his dictionary Muhit al-Muhit, Butrus al-Bustani described it as a dance performed by sheikhs during religious observances, reflecting its historical association with devotional practices.

In Khitat al-Sham, published during the 1920s, Muhammad Kurd Ali discussed Samah's place within Levantine musical life, describing it as a performance combining movement, muwashshahat, and collective singing.

At various stages of its history, Samah was associated with religious occasions, including the Prophet Muhammad's birthday (Mawlid al-Nabi) and the Islamic New Year, when performances brought together chanting, devotional remembrance, and rhythmic movement. It was also practised in artistic gatherings and social celebrations, reflecting the diversity of contexts in which the dance developed.

Different forms of Samah can be distinguished, including religious Samah associated with Sufi lodges and gathering places, theatrical Samah performed by artistic ensembles before audiences, and popular variations incorporating elements of local dance traditions.

Performances typically involve a variety of formations, including lines and circles, with choreographed transitions corresponding to the rhythmic structure of the muwashshahat. Collective discipline is central to the dance, as the dancers' movements are coordinated with the chanting rather than relying primarily on individual improvisation.

From Aleppo to Damascus: Omar al-Batsh and the Development of Samah

The development of modern Samah is closely associated with Aleppine musician Omar al-Batsh (1885–1950), who helped formalise the relationship between bodily movements and the rhythms of the muwashshahat. He brought the dance from Aleppo to Damascus, where it was gradually incorporated into educational institutions and theatrical performances.

Al-Batsh worked to develop choreographic formations, coordinating footwork and hand gestures with musical rhythms, while also modernising certain elements of performance and costume to suit public presentation.

During the 1930s, Adila Bayhum al-Jazairi emerged as an important figure in this development. She helped establish the Doha al-Adab Association and promoted girls' education. According to historical accounts, she met with Omar al-Batsh in 1934 and invited him to teach Samah to the school's female students. He subsequently began training them in Damascus in 1936, with the support of Fakhri al-Baroudi.

Following the establishment of the Oriental Music Institute affiliated with Syrian Radio in 1947, al-Batsh taught muwashshahat and Samah, helping consolidate the dance's place within the capital's musical institutions.

At the school's annual celebration in 1947, students from Doha al-Adab performed Samah at the University of Damascus amphitheatre while singing the muwashshah "Imla' Li al-Aqdah Sirfan" ("Fill My Cups with Pure Wine").

Their participation marked a significant development in the history of an art form that, during earlier periods, had been associated with predominantly male dhikr circles. Yet their appearance did not go unchallenged.

From Sheikhs and Elderly Men to "Graceful Maidens and Beautiful Young Women"

This was how Ali al-Tantawi described the transfer of Samah dance to female students at the Doha al-Adab School in Damascus, in a controversy that extended beyond the press and religious platforms to reach the Syrian Parliament in 1951.

That year, Samah became the subject of a political and social dispute between Fakhri al-Baroudi and Sheikh Ali al-Tantawi, following performances by the school's female students.

In the fifth volume of his memoirs, in a chapter entitled "My Story with Samah Dance," al-Tantawi characterised the transfer of the dance from sheikhs to young women as a "diabolical idea" and criticised the students for performing before audiences that included men.

Al-Tantawi wrote that the students wore colourful, flowing silk costumes inspired by clothing associated with the Abbasid and Andalusian periods. Although he acknowledged that the performance did not involve exposing intimate parts of the body, he maintained that women dancing before men carried a provocative quality that, in his view, conflicted with religious and social conventions.

His objections began in the press and later extended to a sermon delivered at a mosque in Damascus, followed by responses and competing newspaper campaigns supporting and opposing his position. The controversy eventually reached the Syrian Parliament during its session on 26 June 1951.

The dispute concerned more than the movements of the dance itself. It centred on women's participation in public performances and the boundaries that the opposing parties sought to establish around their visibility in public life.

Despite these objections, Samah continued to be performed by artistic ensembles and taught in musical institutions, becoming part of the theatrical and heritage performances for which Syria became known, including those of the Umayya Folk Arts Troupe.

The Rabia al-Adawiya Ensemble: An Experience from Syria's Queer Memory

Decades after this controversy, Damascus witnessed another distinctive experiment with Samah, one largely absent from written accounts of the dance's history.

Ghassan, a gay man in his forties, recounts to SEEN an experience dating back to the 1980s, when he and a group of gay friends established a Sufi-inspired performing arts ensemble, drawing inspiration from an earlier troupe known as Rabia al-Adawiya and adopting its name.

The initiative emerged from friendships among individuals who shared an interest in chanting and rhythmic dance. Some members, including Ghassan, had previously performed with folk dance troupes before beginning to attend Sufi-inspired Mawlid gatherings, which were widespread in Damascus, particularly during wedding celebrations.

According to Ghassan, the idea of establishing the ensemble initially arose as a joke among friends before developing into an actual artistic project in 1985. The members chose the name Rabia al-Adawiya in honour of the renowned female Sufi figure in Islamic history.

Recalling the beginnings of the initiative, Ghassan says:

"I was interested in chanting and rhythmic dance, and through this experience, I connected with several friends and artists from the LGBTQ+ community who were searching for forms of artistic expression that could bring together spirituality and theatrical performance."

The ensemble sought to present performances combining Samah and Mevlevi whirling, preserving their connections to Sufi traditions while reinterpreting them within a contemporary theatrical framework.

Ghassan describes the experience as more than a series of theatrical performances. Rather, it was a practice that brought together art and spirituality. The members sought to reinterpret Samah, with its disciplined movements and collective formations, alongside Mevlevi dance, traditionally associated with whirling and spiritual contemplation.

This type of performance was not entirely new to Syria's artistic landscape. Samah had previously appeared on theatre stages and television programmes through musical and folk arts ensembles, including the Umayya Troupe.

What distinguished Rabia al-Adawiya, according to Ghassan, was the social composition of the ensemble and the relationships among its members.

"It was the first gay Sufi dance ensemble. Of course, we did not disclose this, because doing so would have meant our complete rejection."

With these words, Ghassan describes an aspect of the experience that enabled its members to practise their art together without publicly disclosing their sexual identities.

Performances, Funding, and Social Reception

According to Ghassan's testimony, the ensemble performed at Al-Hamra Theatre in the Salihiyah district of Damascus.

He recalls that public responses to the performances were mixed. Some audience members viewed them as a continuation of Sufi artistic heritage, while others considered them unconventional in their form and style of performance.

He adds that the ensemble's members sought to emphasise the artistic and aesthetic dimensions of their work rather than engage with the social interpretations that might be imposed upon their performances.

Financially, all performances were offered free of charge. The costs of costumes and other necessary equipment were covered through contributions from the members themselves, alongside donations from individuals involved in running certain Sufi lodges.

Ghassan notes that some of these supporters were aware of the ensemble members' sexual orientations and gender identities. This detail offers insight into the social relationships that enabled the artistic initiative to continue despite the absence of public disclosure regarding the ensemble's composition.

Rabia al-Adawiya remained active until 1997, when, according to Ghassan, the initiative came to an end following the deaths of two of its dancers during Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1996.

Samah as Cultural and Social Memory

Tracing Samah across its historical and geographical trajectories reveals an art form in which musical expression intersects with bodily movement, and spiritual traditions intertwine with aesthetic practice. Damascus played an important role in preserving and reshaping this tradition through successive periods of cultural transformation.

Although accounts of Samah's origins and development differ, its association with muwashshahat, chanting, and traditional musical forms remains central to its place in Syrian and broader Islamic artistic heritage.

The dance's modern history also demonstrates how inherited cultural practices can be reinterpreted within theatrical and experimental settings. At the same time, the uneven documentation of its practitioners reminds us that the history of an art form cannot be fully understood through its musical structures and institutional development alone.

From female students whose performances sparked political and social controversy in the 1950s to queer performers who concealed their sexual identities decades later, the history of Samah encompasses experiences that have not always been recognised in written cultural narratives.

These stories reveal different dimensions of visibility, artistic participation, and the limits imposed on bodily expression in Syrian society, while highlighting the capacity of cultural traditions to accommodate experiences that remain largely absent from their official histories.

References

1. Bin Dharil, Adnan. (1996). Samah and Dabke Dance: History and Documentation (رقص السماح والدبكة: تاريخ وتدوين). Read the book (PDF)

2. Al-Jundi, Adham. Notable Figures of Literature and Art (أعلام الأدب والفن), Vol. 2. NYU Digital Library

3. Al-Bustani, Butrus. (1870). Muhit al-Muhit: An Arabic Dictionary (محيط المحيط). Internet Archive

4. Kurd Ali, Muhammad. (1926). Khitat al-Sham (خطط الشام). Internet Archive

5. The Arabic Encyclopedia. Reference material on Samah dance, Sufi traditions, and its historical terminology. Official website

6. Al-Manbiji, Aqil. Biographical and historical information concerning the Sufi figure traditionally associated with Samah. Al-Marefa discussion page

7. Omar al-Batsh (1885–1950). Biographical information on the Aleppine musician and his contribution to Samah. Arabic Wikipedia

8. Adila Bayhum al-Jazairi. Biographical information on the Syrian feminist and education advocate. Arabic Wikipedia

9. Doha al-Adab Association for Girls (1928). Historical information concerning Adila Bayhum al-Jazairi and women's education in Damascus. Adab al-Sham

10. Fakhri al-Baroudi. Biographical information on the Syrian political and cultural figure. Arabic Wikipedia

11. Oriental Music Institute. Historical material relating to musical education and the development of Syrian musical institutions. Al-Nour

12. Damascus Radio. Background information on Syrian broadcasting and cultural history. Official website

13. “Imla' Li al-Aqdah Sirfan” (املأ لي الأقداح صرفاً). A musical recording of the traditional muwashshah discussed in the article. Listen on YouTube

14. Al-Tantawi, Ali. Memoirs (ذكريات), Vol. 5, chapter “My Story with Samah Dance” (قصتي مع رقص السماح). Internet Archive

15. Al-Tantawi, Ali. Biographical reference. Arabic Wikipedia

16. Umayya Folk Arts Troupe. Historical information on the Syrian performing arts ensemble. Syrian Modern History

17. Rabia al-Adawiya. Biographical information on the historical Sufi woman whose name inspired the ensemble. Arabic Wikipedia

18. Ghassan. (2026). Oral-history interview on the Rabia al-Adawiya Ensemble, Samah Dance, and Queer Artistic Life in Damascus (1985–1997). Interview conducted by SEEN for Gender and Sexual Equity. Unpublished oral testimony.

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Note: This article was originally written in Arabic and translated into English with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).