Dancing against terrorism | DW Documentary

"They said they would shoot me in the leg so I couldn’t dance anymore." The brutal threat Syrian dancer Ahmad Joudeh received from the terrorist organization "Islamic State" forced him to flee his home in Damascus.

Dance or die - these three words became Ahmad Joudeh's statement of defiance against the so-called Islamic State (IS). He has them tattooed across his neck. But his father, too, detested Ahmad's passion for dance: some in Syria consider dancing unmanly. In 2016, Ahmad left Syria for the Netherlands. There, he earned a spot with the Dutch National Ballet.

Ahmad quickly became a star, and has performed numerous times on TV, including with the musician Sting. Eventually, even his father attended his performances. The reconciliation proved to be a huge relief for Ahmad.

#dwdocumentary #freedocumentary #dance
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