The Dancer

  • Genre: Documentary
  • Run time: 90 min
  • Premiere: 2025. July 1.
  • Director: Lacey Uhlemeyer

For Ahmad Joudeh, a stateless refugee from Syria, dance is not a choice, it’s a lifeline – etched onto his very skin with the words “Dance or Die.” Having defied war and family disapproval to join the Dutch National Ballet, Ahmad found sanctuary in the Netherlands, becoming a UNHCR and LGBTQI+ Ambassador. But haunted by the trauma of his past, he makes a perilous decision: to return to Syria for the first time since the war, risking everything to bring the healing power of dance to a community still ravaged by conflict.

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Directing

Production

Tanja Tawadjoh

Producer

Trevite Willis

Producer