Mallozzi: I'm a dancer, and I'm a traveler, and wherever I go, I experience the world one dance at a time.

♪ I'm Mickela Mallozzi, and this is "Bare Feet."

♪ "Bare Feet" is supported in part by... Announcer: Bloomberg Connects gives you a way to experience the arts from your mobile phone.

You can explore hundreds of cultural organizations from around the world anytime, anywhere.

Learn more at bloombergconnects.org or wherever you find your apps.

Announcer: Road Scholar, offering educational travel adventures for adults since 1975.

Announcer: Additional funding was provided by Koo and Patricia Yuen through the Yuen Foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.

Mallozzi: These generous supporters.... Announcer: And by the Ann H. Symington Foundation.

[Drums playing] Mallozzi, voice-over: There are an estimated 160,000 Arab-Americans living in New York City, represented by 22 Arab countries, practicing Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

On this "Bare Feet" in NYC adventure, I'll be dancing my way through the North African and Middle Eastern cultures within these 5 boroughs to learn more about the diversity and beauty of being Arab-American here in the United States.

[Men chanting] Mallozzi, voice-over: My first stop takes me to Central Park in Manhattan to meet with Esraa Warda-- Algerian American dancer, musician, teacher, and activist.

[Drums and clapping] Warda, voice-over: Today we're doing Algerian Rai dance here in Central Park on the Great Hill.

♪ 1, 2, 1, 2, 1... ♪ Warda, voice-over: Not too long ago, Rai music was illegal.

It was not allowed to be played on the radio.

It was not allowed to have performances on stage.

Artists were in the underground.

♪ 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3, 4 ♪ ♪ 1, 2 ♪ ♪ 3 ♪ You know the deal.

Warda, voice-over: Rai music is a popular genre of music from the west of Algeria.

Rai music's really early grandpa is what we call Bedouin music from the countryside around which Rai is popularized now.

Another really important rhythmic grandmother of Rai music is meddhahates music.

Meddhahates rhythms is what we find in Rai music today.

Hey, hey, both hands.

♪ 5 ♪ Warda, voice-over: "Rai" literally translated means opinion.

It gives importance to the personal story.

It's rebellious.

It's raw.

It's uninhibited.

It speaks about the raw condition of the marginalized, oppressed experience as an Algerian person.

[Drums continue] I want you to feel this moment.

Enjoy this.

Warda, voice-over: We have a huge Indigenous population.

It's called Amazigh, the native inhabitants of North Africa in which our culture is based on, historically who we are as a people.

My work focuses on teaching Amazigh dance and also teaching dances that come from working class, marginalized, poor people, oppressed people from North Africa because a lot of these dances are often, you know, made to be invisible.

Nobody really knows about them or gives them the honor and respect that they deserve, so my work is really about, you know, removing that kind of classism around degrading dances that are people's poetry.

♪ Hey, hey ♪ Yes.

You're good.

[Drums continue] Warda: ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, yeah ♪ ♪ Hey, yeah ♪ You know what's the essence and the inspiration for all of my classes?

What is it?

It's a living room.

To feel like you're in someone's-- Feel like in somebody's living room.

Mm.

I grew up dancing, learning different types of North African dance in my family back home in Algeria's living room, and the living room has such important social significance.

That's where people learn things about social norms and how to dance, how to eat, all these things.

Our dance is focused on community.

♪ Ga da go ♪ ♪ Ga da go, ga da go ♪ Pop it from here.

♪ Ga da da, ga da da ♪ Hey.

Hey.

There you are.

Mallozzi, voice-over: There is an aura around you, and this is why I'm drawn to you.

I think this is why a lot of people are drawn to you, is that you're a very powerful woman... Oh, that's good to know.

very powerful woman, and I'm sure you've faced a lot of backlash from it but also a lot of support from that.

Warda: ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey ♪ Warda, voice-over: Yeah, for sure.

I mean, a lot of my work also speaks about different type of misogyny that you face as a dancer, you know, changing that narrative about, you know, body policing and hypersexualizing somebody and assuming their sexual availability just because they're a dancer.

Right.

I can move this way, but it doesn't mean that I am-- It doesn't mean it's for you.

Right.

It's for me.

It's for me.

Yeah, exactly.

It's for me, and that's a big shift in that narrative... Yeah.

which you have been a huge part of.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ Let's go.

Let's go.

Shimmy harder.

♪ Uh, uh... ♪ Warda, voice-over: I try my best to make my classrooms and dance spaces, you know, equitable spaces.

My number-one priority is the North African community, especially women, especially LGBT community, as well, all folks who have been marginalized from traditions sometimes because they weren't exactly the mold or, you know, the category they were supposed to be, and now it's really their chance to learn their traditions again in a space that feels more safe and they can be themselves.

♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: My next stop takes me to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, also known as Beiruti Ridge, Little Syria, and Little Middle East.

This neighborhood is home to one of the largest populations of Middle Easterns in New York City.

I meet with Ayat Masoud, chef and entrepreneur, to get a deeper sense of how so many different cultures from the Middle East and North Africa come together in this neighborhood.

Our first stop is to Balady Foods on Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street.

It's the largest halal grocery store in Bay Ridge, founded by Ayat's parents in 2003.

Ayat: So this is my brother Essa.

Hi.

Nice to meet you.

Mickela.

[Drums playing] ♪ Essa: So these are fresh green almonds.

Mallozzi: Oh, wow.

You wash it, and then you eat it like an apple.

Oh.

Oh.

It's hard in this season, but-- Mm!

♪ Cheese.

Cheeses-- Egyptian cheese, Bulgarian cheese, Palestinian cheeses.

Wow.

♪ Sweet, the most important section of the store, I would say.

The delicacy of the Middle East, you know, the baklava and-- ♪ Oh, my gosh.

♪ Who's your demographic that you're selling to mainly?

Specifically Middle Eastern, North African.

Every people brings their own culture, so they all come together, and they form what this community is.

Mallozzi, voice-over: We are so lucky to run into Ayat and Essa's beautiful mother Ferial, and today is her birthday.

Happy birthday!

Mallozzi, voice-over: The Masouds started Balady in 2003 to meet the growing needs of the community.

Bay Ridge is this community of all these Arab-Americans, and Balady represents everyone coming together, right?

Yes.

That's why I name it Balady.

What does Balady mean?

So Balady means hometown.

Hometown.

Oh.

It's beautiful.

Yes.

Yes.

Mallozzi, voice-over: We then head next door to see the expansion of the home decor section of Balady.

♪ Ayat: Arabs have a culture of hospitality in general, and I noticed that the Arab community love family-run businesses because they feel as if you're entering their home.

So what did that feel like when you saw all these wonderful people in the community from different cultures coming to your store and feeling like they're home, like balady?

What did that feel like for all of you?

We feel good.

Yeah?

We feel, you know, we do something for the community.

We make them happy.

Mm-hmm.

Mallozzi, voice-over: I told Ayat that I'm invited to a Palestinian wedding later this week, so for our next stop, she takes me to a traditional thobe shop in the neighborhood.

A thobe is a traditional dress worn during weddings and celebrations, and Ayat is helping me find the perfect fit.

♪ You're going to this wedding, it's all about the celebration.

It's gonna be nonstop music.

It's gonna be everyone jumping and celebrating, and what you wear reflects that energy and spirit, so Palestinians and simple don't get along.

It's very pretty, this one.

It's beautiful.

Let's try them on.

OK. Let's try them.

All right.

I'm ready.

Very nice... Agree.

very beautiful.

♪ Oh, that's pretty.

♪ Blue.

What do we think?

It's very calm.

Ooh.

Ooh.

Sometimes things are plain just so you can show off your jewelry because everybody wears jewelry.

Right.

All right.

Number 3.

Oh, that's nice.

What do we think?

I like it, actually.

You know what?

They always say the outfit looks better when it's on the person... Yeah.

because sometimes the person complements.

I usually go blue, but for some reason, this red one's really talking to me.

♪ All right.

Let's go eat at your restaurant.

I'm so hungry.

OK. Let's go.

I'm so hungry.

OK. Let's do this.

Mallozzi, voice-over: For our last stop, Ayat takes me to her and her husband's own restaurant, named after her.

♪ Mallozzi: Who is this beautiful woman, and what is she making?

Ayat: This is our traditional bread maker.

She's making what we call traditional saj bread.

It's another name for the shrak.

It's so thin, you can see the pattern of the cushion underneath.

Wow.

♪ So this is the bread that she was making in the corner over there.

Oh, my gosh.

♪ The majority of dishes you're gonna find here at the restaurant are very specific to Palestine.

OK. We opened up in the pandemic not expecting a great turnout, but we got busy literally the first few weeks.

People were starving for that kind of authenticity.

Yeah.

OK. Let's just start.

I feel like maybe if I start, they'll stop bringing food.

Ha ha ha!

Maybe.

What is that?

It's a fattat jaj and fattat lahma.

It's a 6-layer dish.

Oh, my gosh.

Enjoy.

♪ Mm.

Mm.

Mm.

Mm.

This is so good.

♪ This is mansaf, very traditional to Palestine.

♪ This is, like, a top comfort food.

Mm-hmm.

This has a reputation of putting you in a food coma.

Uh, already, yes, just that one bite.

I can imagine if you ate the whole thing.

Puts you right to sleep.

You hibernate.

It's delicious.

I'm the youngest of 9 kids, right, so my mother was a homemaker her whole life, and every single day, she's cooking for a family of 11, so when I was a little girl, I learned a lot of skills from her, and I decided to pass that along here.

To food and family and to Ayat, you and the restaurant, and your whole family for giving you a love of food.

We really appreciate it.

Food brings people together.

It does.

Yeah.

It really does.

[Violin playing] Mallozzi, voice-over: Next stop is to meet with Hadi Eldebek at his home here in Bay Ridge.

Hadi is the director of the Brooklyn Nomads, and together with his brother Mohamad and other musicians, family members, and friends, I'm gonna experience that intimacy of transmission of Arabic and Middle Eastern culture right here in their own living room.

Hadi: [Singing] ♪ Hadi, voice-over: People in Lebanon love life.

They love living, you know, and they enjoy it, so, like, I definitely have very vivid memories of my father.

Just once we start to play, he will just stand up and dance, and so that is something that we grew up within.

[Singing continues] ♪ Hadi, voice-over: The Brooklyn Nomads is a collective of musicians.

We are a cross-cultural band rooted in Arabic music, North African music, and other non-Western music, basically.

♪ In Arabic rhythms, we have two main syllables-- the doum and the tek, so if I say, "Doum, tek, doum, tek," you could clap it, "Doum, tek, doum, tek."

The doum is the down clap, and the tek is the up clap.

Now, if I sing, "Doum, tek, tek, doum, tek, doum, tek, tek, doum, tek," you'll clap exactly that.

♪ Down, up, up, down, up, down, up ♪ [Singing] ♪ We're in Bay Ridge right now.

What does it mean for you to be right here in the heart of, what, the Arab-American community here in New York, in Brooklyn, but also to bring back to the community to show the evolution of the music?

Hadi: There's definitely a sense of home and community here, simple things-- hearing the language, seeing the Arabic marks on the signs on the stores and all of that.

These are small things, but they are big.

They give us this sense of community, a sense of being in a place that is not completely unfamiliar... [Singing continues] and, as you said, when we play music, we certainly try not to confine ourselves with one label.

Mm-hmm.

♪ 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ Hadi, voice-over: Being in New York opened our eyes to many different cultures without the need to travel, and the Brooklyn Nomads is an attempt to represent that because Brooklyn is very diverse.

♪ We have musicians from Germany, from Iran, from Turkey, from Albania, from Sudan, and many other countries.

We explore what they bring to the table-- their accents, their flavors, their ornamentations-- and see how that fits with the music that we play, and sometimes we explore their own repertoire, and that is very powerful.

♪ Hadi, voice-over: This piece is based on maqsoum rhythm.

With your 3 fingers or one finger, it's up to you.

Perfect.

So... ♪ Perfect.

You got it.

Not bad.

Natural.

♪ 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: The derbake-- also known as the darbuka, doumbek, or tarabuka-- is a chalice drum, or a goblet drum, and it has been used for thousands of years.

It originated from Mesopotamia and ancient Egyptian cultures.

♪ Ah!

I really want a drum.

I really want to go now and go buy a drum and just play more.

♪ Even though I'm playing the simplest version of this rhythm, immediately I felt like we were-- Chemistry.

Yeah.

There's this bond.

There's this energy that's, like, flowing through all of us at the same time.

Hadi, voice-over: That is something we get a lot when we go and perform and ask people, "How did it feel?"

The home and coziness and community is something we get a lot as feedback, and we want to preserve this because we think this energy we bring is our strength, and it comes out naturally because we feel it.

[Singing continues] Hadi, voice-over: These instruments, these sounds, they're connected to my identity.

They're familiar.

When I feel lost or homesick, they come to rescue.

They're friends that help me make other friends.

[Singing continues] ♪ Yeah.

♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: My next stop takes me to the Comic Strip Live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Tonight is the Brown Comedy Hour, an evening of Arab-American comics hosted by Dean Obeidallah and co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival Maysoon Zayid.

[Cheering and applause] Maysoon and my sister have the same diagnosis of cerebral palsy, also known as CP.

Why did we get divorced in the pandemic?

I will tell you why.

Your spouse's habits get very annoying very quickly.

In his case, the most annoying habit was the constant breathing-- inhale, exhale.

I was like, "For God's sakes, can you just stop for 5 minutes?

I didn't at birth, and I have millions now."

Maysoon, I'm a huge fan.

Everything you do, it's funny.

It's poignant.

It's powerful.

I love how you use humor to confront really difficult topics.

Yeah.

I say, in the Oppression Olympics, I would win a gold medal because I'm Palestinian, Muslim, BIPOC, disabled, divorced, and I'm from Jersey.

Man: Went up to a girl.

She's like, "Can I ask you a religious question without offending you?"

and I was like, "Probably not."

Zayid: Comedy is such a great way to talk to people about something they fear, something they stigmatize, or something they just don't want to confront.

The New York Arab-American Comedy Festival was founded post-9/11, right?

The idea was to combat the negative images of Arabs in media and to bring Arab-Americans back to our roots, which were genuinely comedy.

Man: White privilege is to be able to use your real name at Starbucks.

How many people here have a Starbucks name?

Anyone here?

What's your real name?

Ekaja.

And what's your Starbucks name?

Sarah.

"Sarah."

[Laughter and applause] Zayid, voice-over: There's some that you will never break through to that are gonna be like, "Send her back.

Send her back," and I'm going to be like, "Jersey is part of this country, whether you like it or not."

So what were you guys willing to die for in the pandemic?

For me, it was two eyebrows.

Zayid, voice-over: My main job and the love of my life is stand-up comedy.

It's what I do, but one of the things that's most important is combating the negative stereotypes of Muslims right now.

[Cheering and applause] Keep it going for Maysoon, everyone.

Mallozzi, voice-over: Today is the big day, and in preparation for being a guest at a Palestinian-American wedding, I need to learn dabka.

♪ Dabka is a folk dance that combines circle dance with line dancing, and it is always done at joyous occasions, especially weddings.

I meet with Amer Abdelrasoul and his incredible Freedom Dabka Group to get my first lesson in dabka.

♪ So it's heel, then the whole foot, and at the same time, the right foot is gonna jump up, so like that.

Mm-hmm.

Abdelrasoul, voice-over: It's a common thing back home to have dabka teams.

Like, almost every village has a dabka team.

You know, growing up as kids, we always looked up to the dabka team.

And so then when the leader, he gives a sign, Mm-hmm.

which is what we call a [indistinct], we have two, we have 3, we have 4, we have 5.

Huh.

We do two [indistinct].

♪ Da den den da, da den den ♪ ♪ Da nah uh ♪ 3 is like this, 3.

♪ Na na ♪ Ah!

♪ Deh den ♪ Man: ♪ 1, 2, 3 ♪ ♪ Deh den ♪ Now 5.

♪ Da da doo den den doo den den doo ♪ It's a combination of two and 3.

Two and 3.

♪ Dun dun da, dun dun da ♪ ♪ Dun dun da dun da dun da da ♪ OK. Let's try it.

Yes.

OK. We'll start with two, huh?

OK. Now he's going to stomp.

Now... ♪ One ♪ Hey.

Abdelrasoul, voice-over: We perform in festivals and weddings and cultural events, and we do not only dabka, but we do anything that we can pertaining to the Middle Eastern culture.

♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: We're gonna celebrate a beautiful couple today.

Beautiful.

You're about to do a zaffa.

[Drums and singing] Mallozzi, voice-over: Traditionally, it would be a bride is leaving her family, right?

Is that still sort of part of the tradition?

Mm-hmm.

When we were at the groom's house, we're singing to the groom as he's leaving, and so when we get to the bride's house, we're singing for her, and then when we get to the venue, we're singing for both and for the family.

♪ The clap is a form of art.

I want everybody to see the art that we do so they can get a different view of the Palestinian culture and the Middle Eastern culture.

Hamza.

♪ Abdelrasoul, voice-over: It means so much to us because we see how people react to us, and we want to continue, you know, until our knees give out.

Ooh.

Ha!

[Humming] ♪ Holy moly.

Ooh.

So the wedding we're gonna go to, that's what we're gonna do.

[Indistinct] [Drums playing] ♪ [Cheering and applause] [Drums and singing] ♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: Thank you so much for letting us come and crash your wedding.

No.

It's not a crash thing.

You guys are actually invited, not crashing.

Aw, thank you.

[Singing continues] ♪ Your whole entire family, including the two of you, have taken me in with open arms.

Nigmeh: When you come to our weddings, it's like you're joining our family.

Yeah.

If you're gonna walk in, you're gonna dance with us, you're gonna feel like you're one of us.

[Singing continues] I really feel like I'm with family.

You are.

Thank you.

♪ Man: [Singing] ♪ Man, voice-over: This is what we look forward to, to come to Palestinian weddings as Palestinians and experience the whole energy, the culture, the dancing, the food, just the good times, you know?

♪ You can't kill the Palestinian culture.

I love it.

No matter where we are.

Yeah.

New York City it is.

Been alive for hundreds of years, and it's here to stay forever.

♪ Mallozzi, voice-over: Dance, music, food, and joy-- all of these things mean home to everyone I met.

From the intimacy in one's own living room to sharing a meal and a dance and a song together, family is what I felt on this entire Arab-American journey here in New York City.

Shukran and thank you to all of my new family for taking me right in and making me feel so welcome.

♪ and I'll see you... ♪ on my next "Bare Feet" adventure... ♪ wherever it may take me.

♪ [Laughter] Very nice.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mallozzi: You can stay connected with us at TravelBareFeet.com, where you'll find extra bonus videos, join our "Bare Feet" series conversations through social media, and stay updated with our newsletter.

♪ Man: Hadi, you should be around the corner.

Hadi, yeah.

Come-- There you go.

Like that?

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly like that.

Some groups and teams, like ours, they have women inside.

So you have a woman on your team?

I don't have a woman on my team.

Maybe Mickela might be the first one.

What is Rai dance?

All right, so you got time for this?

Hold on one second.

Shut up.

Thank you.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Mallozzi: "Bare Feet" is supported in part by... Announcer: Bloomberg Connects gives you a way to experience the arts from your mobile phone.

You can explore hundreds of cultural organizations from around the world anytime, anywhere.

Learn more at bloombergconnects.org or wherever you find your apps.

Announcer: Road Scholar, offering educational travel adventures for adults since 1975.

Announcer: Additional funding was provided by Koo and Patricia Yuen through the Yuen Foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.

Mallozzi: These generous supporters.... Announcer: And by the Ann H. Symington Foundation.

[Baby babbles] ♪ ♪