On Tuesday the 13th of April the staff and volunteers of Project Hope were welcomed as guests of honor to a celebration of Palestinian music and dance at Dar Al-Funoon (House of the Arts).  Project Hope has been a long-time friend and partner of Dar al-Fanoon, sending its volunteers to help teach music, dance and visual arts.  The evening of appreciation began with a world-class dabka (Palestinian folkloric dance) performance by Dar al-Fanoon’s dance troupe of local young men and women from Nablus and Asker refugee camp.  The group performed Palesitnain dabka to traditional songs about the land of Palestine.  Following this performance, younger students in the music classes performed a number of Palestinian tunes (including the national anthem which got a standing ovation!) playing the violin, piano, guitar and tableh (Arabic drum.) After a vocal performance by the young girls in the group, the boys from the dabka group returned to the stage.  This time, instead of Palestinian folklore, the group busted out with an amazing hip-hop and break-dance jam.  As it turns out, Dar Al-Funoon is home to the best break-dancer in the West Bank, as well as a hip hop dance teacher who participated in break-dance training in New York!  The shows finally was a guest performance by a traveling Swedish music group who gave an acapella performance of Swedish songs celebrating spring.   The evening ended with Dar Al-Funoon honoring Project Hope with an award, as well as, of course, enjoying some Palestinian food.  Project Hope wishes Dar Al-Funoon continued success and looks forward to continuing working together as both organizations continue to grow.