Dance or Die

From Stateless Refugee to International Ballet Star: A Memoir

By: Ahmad Joudeh

Art is my identity. Dance is my passport.

Young refugee Ahmad Joudehgrowsup in Syria with dreams of becoming a dancer. Neither bombs nor family opposition keep him from taking classes, practicing hard, and ultimately findingsuccess on a Lebanese reality show. But then extremist’s threaten him if he continues dancing, his father kicks him out of the house, and the war around him intensifies. Recruited by one of Syria’s top dance companies, Ahmad persists in his dream, and 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 Diefollows Ahmad from Damascus to Beirut to Amsterdam, where he finds a home with one of Europe’s top ballet troupes, and 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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Author

Ahmad Joudeh, author

Dancer and choreographer Ahmad Joudeh was born in Syria in 1990 and grew up as a stateless refugee in the Al-Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus. Amid the violence of the Syrian civil war, he pursued his dream as a dancer and appeared on the Middle Eastern version of So You Think You Can Dance before moving to Europe in 2016 to dance with the Dutch National Ballet. He lives in Amsterdam and performs throughout the world.

Read more about Ahmad.

Downloadables

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Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-513-0

Page count: 240
51/2 x 81/4

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