Talk About Living Your Passion
This guy is brave.

Meet Ahmad
He lives and works in Amsterdam (Holland).
He’s a professional ballet dancer, and his story is incredible.
He’s from Syria
Ahmad Joudeh grew up in Syria. And in case you didn’t know, being a male dancer in this part of the world is not exactly the easiest thing to do.
His own father beat him, locked him in his room and burnt his dance clothes. All this, because his father was ashamed of his son’s passion for ballet dancing.
In Ahmad’s words, he mentions that “the more his father pushed him back, the more Ahmad pushed forward to live his dream of dancing.”
To add to his already stressful life, terrorist groups threatened him numerous times to stop doing what he loved.
In an act of defiance and bravery 💪for what is right, Ahmad decided to get a tattoo behind his neck (right where they normally decapitate people) with the words “dance or die.”
Whoa.
On to the good stuff
Sorry for the heavy details — not very Goods of us, we know — but Ahmad’s story does get better.
A Dutch journalist found Ahmad’s Facebook page as he was researching “dance in Syria” for a documentary film.
Fast forward to Ahmad being a part of that docufilm, thereafter being discovered by the National Dutch Ballet, and then getting a visa (for Holland) to work as a ballet dancer.
Yay!
From port de bras to peace
These days, Ahmad is hard at work living and sharing his passion with others.
Because he knows firsthand how dance can help build your confidence, Ahmad is teaching dance to others to help them achieve their own greatness.
Dancing gave him the strength to face the war in Syria, so if there’s anyone who has a tough time learning how to dance and still make it, it’s Ahmad.
Ahmad, if you’re reading this, you’re a huge inspiration 😍
#biggestfan
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Ahmad is just one example of how badass ballet dancers are. You can see him dance and tell his story here.
And while we’re on the topic, here’s another champ, Misty Copeland, she smashed and refined the stereotypical definition of what it takes to wear ballet slippers.
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