Saudi police arrest singer for on-stage 'dab' dance move

Entertainer Abdallah Al Shaharani later apologised for the ‘spontaneous movement’ which is banned in the country for supposed associations with narcotics

A TV personality in Saudi Arabia has been detained by the authorities for performing the ‘dab’ dance move during a concert, local media has reported.

Actor and singer Abdallah Al Shaharani took part in a musical festival in the city of Taif on Monday night.

In a video from the concert which has been widely shared, Mr Shaharani puts down his microphone in order to encourage the audience to clap along. He then rolls his arms and executes the ‘dab’, while the audience whoops and cheers.

The dab - when the arms are raised pointing in the same direction, one out straight and one folded, with the face dropped into the crook of the bent arm - was created by US rapper Skippa da Flippa in 2014, and went on to be imitated by other artists, celebrities and politicians around the world.

The wildly popular move, however, was outlawed in conservative Saudi Arabia by the National Committee for Drug Control, on the grounds that it alludes to weed and other illegal substances.

Abdul-Ella Al-Sharif, Secretary-General of the National Committee for Drug Control, told Okaz newspaper that the artist’s dance move was “contrary to the national strategy to combat drugs” and he had been arrested in the same way anyone who “incites or advocates for abuse of drugs” would be.

Mr Shaharani tweeted on Tuesday that he was sorry for his actions.

“I am most apologetic to our honourable government and my dear president for the spontaneous movement I made in the Ta'if Festival. Accept my apology,” the message read.

His arrest caused a social media storm as thousands of Saudi users debated whether he should face punishment or not.

“This move has an obvious negative influence on people, no matter what his explanation is, it's unacceptable,” one person said.

Mr Shaharani is far from the first person to do the dab in public - Rabeh Sager, another widely known singer, often dabs during shows.