--- title: "Lebanese Dabke Highlight from Your Footage | WeddingEditor" url: https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/lebanese/dabke/ last_updated: 2026-10-11 --- # A dabke highlight, cut from the rounds you filmed The dabke is the line dance at the center of many Lebanese weddings: dancers link hands or shoulders, stamp in time, and follow a leader at the head of the line, called the raas or lawweeh, who often waves a handkerchief or prayer beads and improvises steps. It usually returns several times through the night, with different relatives leading. To get a highlight of it, upload the dabke footage as its own WeddingEditor project, name the leaders and the peak moments, and WeddingEditor's AI editing makes a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser. The edit keeps the tabl, the mijwiz or the band exactly as you recorded them. [Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard) ## How to get a dabke highlight 1. **Upload the dabke rounds as one project** Gather the clips from every round of dabke into a project of their own, from every angle you had: the wide shot from the stage, the handheld in the line, the overhead from the balcony. File names only need to be unique within the project; there is no need to sort by round. 2. **Say who led and when it peaked** Name each leader and what they wore, say which round was the biggest, and note the moment the couple or an elder joined the line. Say how much the music and the stamping should carry the cut. 3. **Receive and refine** Pay with One Wedding or a plan credit, start processing, and typically in 24 to 72 hours the edit is in your project. Up to two revision rounds by email cover a missing leader or a round you want more of. ## Dabke moments to list Put these in the must-include question, in the order they happened. - **The line forming**: Guests leaving their tables and linking hands in a growing half circle as the first beat starts. - **The leader steps out**: The raas at the front, handkerchief raised, calling the steps and turning to face the line. - **A change of leader**: The moment one relative hands the handkerchief to another and the rhythm changes with them. - **The couple in the middle**: The bride and groom pulled into the circle while the line closes around them. - **An elder joins**: A grandparent or great-uncle taking the lead for a few steps, with the room cheering. - **The final stamp**: The line speeding up for the last bars and breaking into applause. ## How a dabke round usually unfolds Steps, music and customs differ between regions and families, so ask the couple which rounds mattered most. - **1. The music starts**: A drummer on the tabl, often with a mijwiz reed pipe, a singer or a full band, sets a steady rhythm that people recognize at once. - **2. The line forms**: Dancers join hands or link shoulders in a line or an open circle, usually with the most confident dancers closest to the leader. - **3. The leader improvises**: The leader at the front sets the steps, adds jumps, kneels or spins, and signals changes to the line, often waving a handkerchief or beads. - **4. It grows and peaks**: More guests join as it goes, the tempo rises, and the stamping gets louder until the round ends in cheers, before another begins later. - **A highlight, not every round**: A night of dabke can last far longer than five minutes. The project returns one Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or one Social Teaser built from it. ## Parts of the dabke and what to note in the preferences | Part | What it looks or sounds like | What to note in the preferences | |---|---|---| | Opening beat | Drum and reed pipe start; guests stand up | "Start on the first tabl beat." | | Line forming | Hands linking, the line curling around the floor | "Show the line reaching the stage." | | Leader | Handkerchief raised, calling steps, jumping | "Leader: uncle Georges, grey suit." | | Couple joining | The bride and groom pulled into the middle | "Must include the couple in the center." | | Peak | Fastest tempo, loudest stamping, cheering | "Hold the peak of round two." | ## What is the dabke? The dabke is a folk line dance from the Levant, danced at weddings in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, among others. Dancers link together and follow a leader through stamping steps to drum, pipe and song. A dabke highlight is a short edit of those rounds made from the footage you upload. Not the same as: It is not the zaffe, the procession that brings the couple in, although the same drummers often play both. It is also not a choreographed first dance; the dabke belongs to everyone in the room. ## Dabke video questions ### Can I get a highlight of only the dabke? Yes. Make a project for the dabke and upload only those clips. Each project produces one edit, so the rest of the wedding can be a separate project. ### Will the stamping and the drums be heard? Yes, as far as your cameras caught them. WeddingEditor keeps the recorded sound and uses music alongside it, balanced by your audio preference, so ask in the audio question for mostly natural sound if the rhythm should drive it. ### How will WeddingEditor know who the leader is? From your notes. Name each leader, describe what they wore and say which round they led. WeddingEditor does not know the family; it follows what you write. ### The dabke happened in four separate rounds. Can they be combined? Upload all four into the same project and say which round matters most. The AI editing builds one edit from the footage, following the order and weight you describe. ### Can my second shooter's dabke footage go in the same project? Yes, if they are signed in to your WeddingEditor team and use the team upload link WeddingEditor sets up. ### How soon is the dabke edit ready? Expect it typically 24 to 72 hours after processing starts. There is no guaranteed time, so plan any delivery promise to the couple with that range in mind. ## More for Lebanese weddings - [Lebanese wedding video editing](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/lebanese/): The whole wedding - [Zaffe highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/lebanese/zaffe/): The drum procession - [Lebanese wedding highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/lebanese/highlight/): The whole night in about 5 minutes - [Lebanese wedding teaser](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/lebanese/teaser/): A short preview - [Greek wedding dance highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/greek/dance/): Another line dance tradition - [All cultures](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/cultures/) ## Every leader, every stamp, in one highlight Upload the dabke rounds as their own project and name the people who led them. [Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard)