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Dance or Die

From Stateless Refugee to International Ballet Star A MEMOIR

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A Syria-born dancer offers his deeply personal story of war, statelessness, and the pursuit of the art of dance in this inspirational memoir. 
DANCE OR DIE is an autobiographical coming-of-age account of Ahmad Joudeh, a young refugee who grows up in Damascus with dreams of becoming a dancer. When he is recruited by one of Syria’s top dance companies, neither bombs nor family opposition can keep him from taking classes, practicing hard, and becoming a Middle Eastern celebrity on a Lebanese reality show. Despite death threats if Ahmad continues to dance, his father kicking him out of the house, and the war around him intensifying, he persists and even gets a tattoo on his neck right where the executioner's blade would fall that says, "Dance or Die."
 
A powerful look at refugee life in Syria, DANCE OR DIE tells of the pursuit of personal expression in the most dangerous of circumstances and of the power of art to transcend war and suffering. It follows Ahmad from Damascus to Beirut to Amsterdam, where he finds a home with one of Europe's top ballet troupes, and from where he continues to fight for the human rights of refugees everywhere through his art, his activism, and his commitment to justice.
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  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2021

      Born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Joudeh eventually performed ballet around the world. In this stirring memoir, he describes a childhood filled with music and art, and his life-changing discovery of ballet. Though his father believed dancing was an inappropriate pursuit for a boy, Joudeh continued to dance, with the support of his mother. After enduring physical and emotional abuse from his father, Joudeh attempted suicide in his late teens; at 22, after receiving death threats from ISIS for teaching dance, he had "Dance or Die" tattooed on his neck--a message to potential executioners. In 2014, Joudeh attracted attention when he was featured on an Arabic version of So You Think You Can Dance; then Roozbeh Kaboly's 15-minute documentary about him caught the eye of the Dutch National Ballet, which Joudeh eventually joined in 2016. His artistic success, contrasted against the Syrian refugee crisis, is riveting reading that offers a unique view of the experiences of displaced people. VERDICT An important story about the transformative power of the arts, and the generational struggles of being a refugee.--Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:840
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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