Danza O Muori by Ahmad Joudeh, foreword by Roberto Bolle

When the publishing house DeaPlaneta asked me if I was interested in reading and reviewing Danza O Muori by Ahmad Joudeh, foreword by Roberto Bolle I

said yes enthusiastically because I remembered Ahmad when he danced in the TV show organized by our italian dancer Bolle and that story touched me profoundly.

RobertoBolle: personally I have a great admiration for him. Enchanting, he communicates peace, grace, beauty, sweetness, elegance perfection, and goodness.
The best of this world in a few words.
I appreciate classic dance.The first time I discovered classic dance was through the TV. Maybe I was 3-4 years.Then when I was 6-7 little thanks to a friend, Marzia, who studied classic dance;I found their world fascinating and colored. Later at the high school a friend of mine asked me to join her during a dancing lesson. Oh it was beautiful and she was technically perfect.

The sisters where I stayed various years trying to learn something at school :-) had a dancing classic school. I knew the various teachers; another schoolmate is a teacher of classic dance and I remember she was impressed by my flexibility.
I have great admiration for this field, in grade to present peace, harmony, joy, beauty, precision, clarity and only good vibes in a world devastated by ugliness and rudeness.

The story told by Ahmad at the beginning of the book is of desperation because his house destroyed. The house built by all his family,including himself, destroyed by bombardments. 
Ahmad is starved because he doesn't eat from a long time. Ahmad lives in a place without any kind of dignity and dance apart, his only joy, he doesn't have anymore anything.He had the good intuition moved by the desire of eating something, of going out; he takes his bike for later stopping by at the house that once was his house. He called with a phone at a
person he called "Aunt." They were not related but he knew she could count on her.She tells him in fact, all happy that Ahmad still alive to staying in her house.

Ahmad reconstructs the story of his grand-dad; he tells that he always lived in Yarmouk, Syria before spreading his wings.
His life, the description of his old world is pretty straining in comparison with the terrible vision he presents to the readers of the now: war. The beauty normality were and is dancing,  his main passion.Sure, conflicts between Israelians and Palestininas as tells Ahmad have always been part of his existence although Ahmad admits that in general his place was pretty violent and there was a constant reason for being scared also for other much more little reasons.
The dad of Ahmad was a musician, he performed at festive events as weddings and during a wedding Ahmad tells a nice anecdoct about a big discussion of some of his relatives and how they sorted out the problem. Substantially refreshing them with cold water.
Although the family of Ahmad was dominated by artistic talents, Ahmad has a beautiful voice, his dad is a musician and so on, it was at first weird the first meeting of Ahmad with classic dance.
He did not imagine that a dance could be so gracious, as if people would fly in a space of joy and happinness thanks to an air in a mixture of strong, precise technique, but with the lightness of someone who do that movements every second of his/her existence: that one is the essence of their existences.Positively shocked by the vision, Ahmad asks more informations to his dad although his dad replies him that this kind of dance is a story of women and so not interesting at all.
Ahmad thinks all the opposites: he starts to study  dance fascinated by this world and in 2014 he will participate at a TV show in Beirut, So You Can THink You can Dance, and without not a lot of problems as you will read, bureocratics, mostly. The life of Ahmad hasn't never been simple but plenty of difficulties.


When Ahmad started to dance, he became someone else for everyone: he became the musical note not harmonic with the rest of the members of his family; the element of break with a past known. The main problem was his dad and the idea that he would have had close to him someone unrecognizable for his standards.Ahmad the little singer of the family became his biggest delusion. 
Ahmad is taken for a series of concerts and this time no one will stop him.
The destiny of Ahmad hasn't been a peaceful one because he was supported only by his mother with tragic consequences and broken families.Ahmad tells that when little he was shy, and living in a dysfunctional family didn't have close to him a lot of friends; so to him existence, the best side of his existence became dancing, because dancing meant freedom: when he danced he was free from the mountain of problems he had at home. His only supporter, the only person he could count on was his mom.
One day during a violent discussion where his dad intimidated him again Ahmad replied that no, he wouldn't never stopped to dancing because it would have meant to him dying.

Imagine the solitude of this boy and just this joy in his complicated world made by fears, secrets, wars, devastation.
Ahmad told at the TV show that he dances because "He wants to escape from the horrors of life, trying to find sweetness again through dance."  
Ahmad as a coreographer tried in his shows to let see the horror of war for trying to let think people about the meaning of that horrible word, a condition that presented him various nightmares.
With the TV show Ahmad becomes a symbol for Palestinians and he is recognized everywhere. His new slavery is this one: popularity.

At home situation is devastating: the mother of Ahmad lost a baby, then his dad changed wife, and he wanted to sell the apartment where Ahmad lived.

Ahmad with all these problems develops migraines and sometimes stress is so serious that becomes invalidant under some aspects. There is a problem that must be sorted out...
It's in this moment that Ahmad falls fascinated  by Roberto Bolle thanks to the videos posted on the net.
At the same time Ahmad posts a documentary about him, his dancing in various social medias platforms.  It is a success. The Dutch National Ballet contacts him. No one as writes Ahmad wants to leave him alone and without help. So he affords to Europe and he meets Roberto Bolle in Amsterdam. Ahmad defines Bolle as a magnet for people and a man he could not see or think with a corporeity before. To him he was a dream.
What Bolle tells to Ahmad during a dinner where he shares from his same plate food, is to find a new manager/agent, using social medias with attention, but mainly working working and working hardly every single day without to fall too fascinated by all the rest of the game.
I noticed, while Ahmad was dancing that there was a story behind him; dancing is another powerful art  for communicate our feelings and Ahmad communicated a lot that Jan 1 2018, helped by Sting performing Fragile and Inshallah.


Interesting, this book is for everyone of course but also for all that creatives of any arts, who decided to become or create something unique while fighting against biggest demons existing in their soul.It's a powerful message of hope, this one. A flower grows also in the cement; a soul breaths peace also where there is terror if inspired by art; art seen as a gentle touch against any kind of stress, as a big and refreshing warm hug for the soul.
The story of Ahmad is also emblematic of what it is going on in certain areas of the world; this book is a window for understand why sometimes people leave the color of their places,their sun and moon and mountains, traditions, customs, for other places and new and more pacific adventures. 
Good Luck Ahmad.

I thank DeaPlaneta for this book.

Anna Maria Polidori