Ahmad Joudeh
Ahmad Joudeh | |
|---|---|
_at_World_Economic_Forum_Davos_2023.png) Speaking at the 2023 World Economic Forum | |
| Born | 4 April 1990 |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, choreographer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
| Website | www |
Ahmad Joudeh (born 4 April 1990) is a Dutch ballet dancer and a choreographer. He was born and raised as a stateless refugee in Syria. He moved to the Netherlands with help of the Dutch National Ballet Company in 2016. He is currently internationally active as an artist. In 2021, he obtained Dutch citizenship.
Early life
Born in 1990, Joudeh grew up in Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. His mother is Syrian, his father Palestinian. Although his father did not approve of his interest in dance, Joudeh persisted, studying dance in Damascus.[1]
From 2007 until 2016, he lived in Damascus, studying dance, and teaching ballet to support himself, and to orphaned and disabled children free of charge. His mother still lives in Syria. His father is an asylum seeker center in Germany, where father and son recently reconciled after an estrangement of eleven years.
Dance
In 2014 he was a contestant in the Arab version of So You Think You Can Dance.[1] He made it to the semi-finals. His appearances brought him to the attention of Dutch filmmaker Roozbeh Kaboly, who produced a documentary that aired on Dutch television.
Joudeh has also produced several short YouTube videos that depict him dancing in Syria.
Dutch documentaries
In 2016 Roozbeh Kaboly, from the Dutch news program
In 2018, a second film about Joudeh, Dance for Peace, which includes his meeting and reconciliation with his father at his refugee camp in Berlin, was broadcast on Dutch television on the
Life in the Netherlands
After the documentaries aired, Joudeh received invitations to dance from a number of countries, including the U.S., Switzerland and Belgium. He decided to go to the Netherlands at the invitation of Ted Brandsen, artistic director of the Dutch National Ballet Company.[2] Brandsen also started a crowd funder titled Dance for Peace to support Joudeh.[1]
On 20 May 2021, Joudeh performed during the interval of the second semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam alongside BMX-er Dez Maarsen.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Mead, David (10 December 2016). "Ahmad Joudeh: from Syria to the Netherlands, dancing for peace". SeeingDance. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ a b Wingenroth, Lauren (15 December 2016). "One Dancer's Journey From War-Torn Damascus to Dutch National Ballet". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ "Dance or die (2018) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Emmy for Dance or die with Ahmed Joudeh".
- ^ "Ballet and BMX bikes for second Semi-Final". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
