Bnat el Houariyat & Esraa Warda

Habibi Festival • Oct 11 & 12, 2022

Bnat el Houariyat is a Moroccan all-women music and dance group of chaabi and houara music led by Khadija el Warzazia. With powerful vocals and traditional Moroccan percussion - bendir, darbouka, taarija, dohdoh, and tebsil, Khadija's songs are about the romantic, the personal, the spiritual, the societal, and the natural - representing the raw spectrum of human experience. She is known for her unique fusions of Gnawa prose into these musical styles dedicated to praising female spirits. Known as "laâbat" in Morocco, women's groups who entertain in all-women's home gatherings or weddings, Bnat el Houariyat bring the ambiance of Moroccan celebrations to the concert stage and are known to leave audiences in a trance with their polyrhythms, call and responses, and rhythmic climaxes.

An active group for over 20 years, Bnat el Houariyat has mentored the younger generation with bringing on New York based dancer Esraa Warda in 2017 who rejuvenated the group. Known for her "jedba" (trance-like state through hair swaying) , she joined Bnat el Houariyat when Khadija picked her out of the crowd in a home wedding in Marrakech's medina. She handed Warda a kaftan (a traditional Moroccan dress) and requested she perform with the group that night. Impressed with her knowledge of Chaabi dance, Khadija recruited Warda as the youngest woman and apprentice of the group. Bnat el Houariyat and Esraa Warda's energy is contagious. They represent the power of North African women and intergenerational transmission - giving audiences permission to be free without inhibitions.

Learn more about Esraa Warda in this October 5, 2022 profile in the New York Times!