Syrians Find Hope, Healing in Dance
2022-06-25
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1Some Syrian young people are learning that dance is a healing release from their many war-related worries.
2For an hour each week, they study Latin dance at a school in Damascus.
3Recently, the group stepped energetically to the sounds of salsa music.
4The students are led by 42-year old Adnan Mohammed, a teacher at the dance school.
5This group is learning the basics of Latin dancing.
6Mohammed says the class helps his students forget the troubles of war - if even for a short time.
7After class, "They come out a different person," he said.
8"I believe we are giving them the energy to stay in the country," he added.
9"Now there is a reason for them to stay."
10More than 500,000 people have died in Syria's civil war, which began in 2011.
11Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military forces have crushed most areas of uprising.
12Rebels remain in control of a few areas.
13For the past several years, conflict lines have been frozen.
14But, damaged areas have not been rebuilt.
15An economic crisis has set in, also.
16Many Syrians are struggling to find work and make enough money to meet the needs of life.
17Mohammed first opened a dance school 15 years ago.
18He says people still kept coming to his classes throughout the war.
19But the coronavirus pandemic was an unbreakable barrier to business.
20It shut everything down.
21With pandemic restrictions now mostly lifted, students have returned to class, looking for a temporary escape.
22Yara Zarin is an engineer who is also a teacher at the Dance Nation school, where Mohammed teaches.
23Zarin used the term exhausted, meaning very tired, to describe how people feel.
24"People are exhausted nowadays, we can sense a lot of frustration," Zarin said.
25Zarin explains that the school's goal is to provide the space where, for "an hour or two ... you can be yourself."
26The dance school offers classes during the week and also dance parties.
27Small performances have made a comeback in the country recently, especially in and around Damascus.
28Last month, hundreds of young people gathered for a techno dance party at a former factory near the city.
29The event included music, dancing and a big laser light show.
30The party was one of the biggest public entertainment events since the war started.
31Ballroom dancing schools were popular before the war among some parts of Syrian society, including three large schools in Damascus that have survived the war.
32For student Amar Masoud, the dance classes are a "breath of life."
33"Sometimes, I end up missing classes because I have to work," he says.
34"But I still try as much as possible to" come to the school.
35Mohammed, the teacher, has a second day job to keep up with expenses.
36He asks for government support to help bring back dance to how it was before the war.
37He dreams of representing Syria in international events.
38"There needs to be a federation created just for dance so that this can be like before the war, where we would go and represent Syria in Arab and Asian countries," he said.
39For Maya Marina, age 30, dancing helps her deal with difficulties.
40"Music takes us to another world," she says.
41Marina adds that dancing is a break "from the pressures, the anger, the difficulties."
42I'm John Russell.
1Some Syrian young people are learning that dance is a healing release from their many war-related worries. 2For an hour each week, they study Latin dance at a school in Damascus. Recently, the group stepped energetically to the sounds of salsa music. 3The students are led by 42-year old Adnan Mohammed, a teacher at the dance school. This group is learning the basics of Latin dancing. 4Mohammed says the class helps his students forget the troubles of war - if even for a short time. 5After class, "They come out a different person," he said. 6"I believe we are giving them the energy to stay in the country," he added. "Now there is a reason for them to stay." 7More than 500,000 people have died in Syria's civil war, which began in 2011. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military forces have crushed most areas of uprising. Rebels remain in control of a few areas. 8For the past several years, conflict lines have been frozen. But, damaged areas have not been rebuilt. An economic crisis has set in, also. Many Syrians are struggling to find work and make enough money to meet the needs of life. 9Mohammed first opened a dance school 15 years ago. He says people still kept coming to his classes throughout the war. 10But the coronavirus pandemic was an unbreakable barrier to business. It shut everything down. 11With pandemic restrictions now mostly lifted, students have returned to class, looking for a temporary escape. 12Yara Zarin is an engineer who is also a teacher at the Dance Nation school, where Mohammed teaches. 13Zarin used the term exhausted, meaning very tired, to describe how people feel. 14"People are exhausted nowadays, we can sense a lot of frustration," Zarin said. 15Zarin explains that the school's goal is to provide the space where, for "an hour or two ... you can be yourself." 16The dance school offers classes during the week and also dance parties. 17Small performances have made a comeback in the country recently, especially in and around Damascus. Last month, hundreds of young people gathered for a techno dance party at a former factory near the city. The event included music, dancing and a big laser light show. The party was one of the biggest public entertainment events since the war started. 18Ballroom dancing schools were popular before the war among some parts of Syrian society, including three large schools in Damascus that have survived the war. 19For student Amar Masoud, the dance classes are a "breath of life." 20"Sometimes, I end up missing classes because I have to work," he says. "But I still try as much as possible to" come to the school. 21Mohammed, the teacher, has a second day job to keep up with expenses. He asks for government support to help bring back dance to how it was before the war. He dreams of representing Syria in international events. 22"There needs to be a federation created just for dance so that this can be like before the war, where we would go and represent Syria in Arab and Asian countries," he said. 23For Maya Marina, age 30, dancing helps her deal with difficulties. 24"Music takes us to another world," she says. Marina adds that dancing is a break "from the pressures, the anger, the difficulties." 25I'm John Russell. 26Omar Sanadiki reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 27________________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29salsa - n. a type of popular Latin-American music 30techno - n. a type of electronic dance music that has a fast beat 31frustration - n. a feeling of anger or annoyance caused by being unable to do something : the state of being frustrated 32federation - n. an organization that is made by loosely joining together smaller organizations