~~July 13, 2017~~
MESSAGE OF HOPE AND PERSEVERANCE
~Refugee uses ballet to create a message of peace~
Half a year ago, ballet dancer Ahmad Joudeh was giving dance lessons to orphaned children in war-torn Damascus. Now he has made his debut at the Dutch National Ballet and is studying at the ballet academy in Amsterdam.
“It took me a month to fully realize I really am in Amsterdam, and I still can’t believe my luck,” Joudeh says.
For years, as the war raged around him and his family, Joudeh – a stateless Palestinian in Syria – had tried to make ends meet by teaching, and had received death threats from Islamic State. When the summons to do three years of military service arrived, the 26-year-old began to believe that this was going to be the end of the dream that he had cradled from childhood.
But his life changed radically in August 2016 when a Dutch TV journalist made a documentary about him.
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Joudeh not only struggled to survive as a dancer during the Syrian war: he also fought a tough, private war to realize his dream.
“My father forbid me to dance,” he says. “Because in our culture, to be a ballet dancer is the worst thing your son can choose to do for a living. He said it was a shame for the family and wanted me to study English or medicine. But I said no, this is my life. I went to dance class secretly. When he found out, he beat me with a wooden stick. He used to beat me really hard. Once he hurt my leg so badly, I couldn’t dance for days. But I never gave in.
I said to him: it’s dance or die.”
“As it appears in … full read/full credit”
~You can watch the full documentary here~
#MessageForPeace #AhmadJoudeh #FoundHisWay #Performs #DutchNationalBallet #Amazing #StudyingBallet #AmsterdamAcademy #StatelessPalestinian #InSyria #ReceivedDeathThreats #IslamicState #BattlingHisOwnInnerDemons
#WeAllAreOne #ItIsWhatItIs #DrRex #HortyRex #hrexach
~~Refugee uses ballet to create a Message of Peace~~
~~Published on Jul 6, 2017~~
Can refugee Ahmad Joudeh use dance change minds?
From performing in the streets of war-torn Syria he received death threats from ISIS, but kept dancing anyways.
Now Ahmad hopes to use his love for dance as a message for peace with the Dutch National Ballet, all the while battling his own inner demons.
We ALL are ONE!!