AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – As a boy in pre-war Baghdad, Adil Faraj dreamed of becoming a dancer, inspired by a Michael Jackson performance he watched on DVD.
For over a decade, he pursued his passion despite daunting challenges and harassment by strangers and police. He taught himself by moving to dance videos in his cramped family home – hiding from a conservative society scornful of the art form and from the chaos that engulfed Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Last weekend, the sweat and tears paid off when the now 22-year-old performed on stage for the first time, to a packed house at the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival in the Jordanian capital.
After his solo – machine-like moves to the haunting Gary Jules’ song “Mad Word” mixed with break dancing – the audience erupted in applause, and Faraj raised his fists triumphantly before bowing.
“I felt tremendous joy,” he said, his chiseled frame sweaty after the dance. “It is like a dream.”