Zaffe in Lebanon

Zaffe is a cultural dance and entertainment specially for weddings in the arab world and specifically performed in weddings in Lebanon, where zaffe has become a very advanced and entertaining part of every wedding in Lebanon., Zaffe entertainment is the way a bride is brought into the wedding party accompanied by  zaffe dancers and loud oriental wedding music mostly using drums, and colorful dancers along with zaffe singers to announce the arrival of the bride to meet her 

On many occasions, the bride would be carried on the shoulders of the zaffe team and brought in to the wedding party amongst loud zaffe music, skilful dancing, drums, singing, laughter and large wedding 

Zaffe dancing and zaffe music is a traditional wedding ritual in Lebanon which is also very entertaining to the wedding guests, family and on looking neighbours, since many kinds of zaffe start by escorting the bride from her home to the wedding 

Traditionally in Lebanon,  all the neighbours, family and people in the area would come out on the balconies when they hear the zaffe drumming and music of the zaffe. It is quite a spectacular event. the on looking people would then sprinkle rice onto the bride, as a sign of prosperity and good luck.

Characteristics of zaffe:

Zaffe is characterized by the loud music, happy singing, rhythm of drums, and most importantly the colorful costumes of the zaffe dancers and zaffe band 

Costumes of the zaffe dancers and musicians used to be the traditional Lebanese folkloric clothing, but has modernized to become all sorts of very colorful and elegant costumes, worn specifically for the zaffe 

Now the modern bride in Lebanon  can even choose a theme to suit the wedding theme, and can even decide on the zaffe music and the zaffe dance she 

Zaffe themes.

Zaffe is no longer the old cultural entertainment dance that used to be the highlight of the wedding event. Zaffe has developed to become a very entertaining and modernized version of music and 

The bride can now choose a wide variety of zaffe themes to suit her wedding mood and wedding theme. Zaffe dancers can wear cowboys’ suits and create a western dance along the western music and western 

Brides can choose from such a varied amount of zaffe themes such as Indian zaffe, Lebanese zaffe, Moulin Rouge zaffe, cha cha zaffe, Latin zaffe, or just a traditional Lebanese dabke 

Whatever the zaffe theme chosen, you can be sure that the young and beautiful dancers will be wearing such beautiful and colorful costumes designed especially to match the 

The zaffe dancers are usually professional dancers who create a different dance to match the different theme and the music chosen for the zaffe 

The Zaffe dancers present a very talented and beautiful dance show during the zaffe, where the dancers, choreography, music, dance steps, lights, singing is all so perfectly coordinated, that they present a zaffe show that will be remembered for a long time, and talked about for years to 

Modern zaffe groups in Lebanon go far beyond the normal zaffe entertainment, and they compete with each other.  They strife to compete with their own previous shows, by creating new zaffe themes and new zaffe costumes every year, where they surpass their previous zaffe shows and zaffe dances that they have presented in previous 

Weddings seasons in Lebanon start in the spring and peak in the summer season, where the bride and groom take advantage of Lebanon\'s good weather to have a grand wedding party in open air, or by the pool side, or even on one of the beautiful Lebanese beaches. No matter where the wedding event is, you can be sure the Zaffe will be just as grand as the event or the wedding 

Many zaffe groups in Lebanon form alliances with other wedding planners in Lebanon, and some even coordinate with the sound and light professionals and with the wedding photographers. This enables the bridal couple to have a full package for their 

Zaffe Groups have all winter to plan new themes, design new costumes for each new theme, create a new and daring dance with very creative steps and choreography, train their dancers, some even create and compose their own music and songs to suit each 

After careful planning and creating new zaffe dances and zaffe themes, zaffe groups go far beyond that to create a professional zaffe presentation portfolio which they can show to prospective brides and groups to choose what suits 

zaffe presentations is done through displaying video recording of their new zaffe dances and zaffe shows, for prospective clients to choose from for their coming 

Some zaffe groups in Lebanon also create a live presentation on stage for all the various zaffe themes and zaffe dances, with all the music pre recorded, stage sound and lighting effects are done professionally, and thus creating a very effective entertaining show, which has some live audience, and is recorded professionally for use as a zaffe presentation for the next coming 

The creative and artistic zaffe groups are in great demand. Some zaffe groups are fully booked months in advance. Some zaffe groups have several zaffe dancers teams, so they can allocate different teams to different wedding events in the same day.

Prospective brides and grooms normally book their zaffe entertainment months in advance of the wedding day, to ensure that they get the exact zaffe they 

Zaffe entertainment is not just about the dance and music and colorful costumes, it is also a party warmer. Zaffe dancers usually would get amongst the wedding guests and bring the wedding guests to the dance floor. This normally starts all the guests to join the zaffe on the dance floor, and of course the highlight is the bride and groom.

The zaffe show is not just about the skilled zaffe dancing, beautiful rhythm of zaffe music and the sound of drums, it can extend to skilful fireworks, fire eaters,  and many times elaborate stage play where the bride is normally the focus of the act, sometimes both the bride and groom are carried in elaborately decorated carriage, or in a boat in a lake, or all sort of creative settings where the zaffe dancers bring the bride to her groom in very entertaining and stunning settings.

Zaffe Teams:

Every zaffe group has several zaffe teams which are normally divided into several skilled groups. The zaffe band usually carry the drums, and other musical equipment which the zaffe band plays on live during the zaffe wedding show.

Some times the music will be pre recorded, and the zaffe band will play along with the recording.

Some zaffe groups have live singers within their zaffe team. There are some traditional wedding songs that are normally played and sang during most zaffe weddings.

There is usually a zaffe leader, who might also be a lead dancer, a singer or a zaffe band player. The leader of the group would be the person who coordinates the whole zaffe show and organizes all the zaffe team 

Zaffe Dancers:

The zaffe dancers are normally young and beautiful men and women, many of them are university students who join the zaffe groups as a part time summer work. Working as zaffe dancers, young people find it entertaining and a fun part time job that requires dancing skills and is a social and a happy event. Most of the zaffe dancers are trained by the zaffe group on the various dances that they will perform during the zaffe shows in Lebanese weddings.

 Zaffe is a very old tradition that has been modernized in every possible way by the creative and artistic Lebanese zaffe groups, and has come to be the highlight of Lebanese weddings everywhere.