The death of a 23-year-old Iraqi in the Baghdad truck bombing Sunday (3 JULY 2016) has touched the hearts of many across the world, moved by his commitment to…
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The death of a 23-year-old Iraqi in the Baghdad truck bombing Sunday (3 JULY 2016) has touched the hearts of many across the world, moved by his commitment to dance.
Adil Faraj was buying clothes at the Karadeh market for the Islamic holiday of Eid, when the truck bomb detonated and killed the aspiring dancer and recent law school graduate said his brother Bilal al-Jaf.
Faraj secretly taught himself how to dance in his cramped family home in Baghdad, hiding from a conservative society scornful of the art form and from the chaos that engulfed Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.
He made and posted dance videos online and Faraj’s talent caught the eye of Jonathan Hollander, founder of the Battery Dance Company, in 2014.
His persistence was immediately clear, and led to the company mentoring Faraj, Hollande said.