{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Iraq\u0026#39;s only ballet and music school survives decades of turmoil' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2e0d8eafeecae15d061' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2e0d8eafeecae15d061' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nIraq\u0026#39;s only ballet and music school survives decades of turmoil\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eIt's a tiny island of creativity amid violence and religious conservatism. Against the odds, the Iraqi Music and Ballet School has survived decades of turmoil - and is continuing to nurture talent in Baghdad.Filing into the hall, these...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eIt's a tiny island of creativity amid violence and religious conservatism. \u003cbr/\u003eAgainst the odds, the Iraqi Music and Ballet School has survived decades of turmoil - and is continuing to nurture talent in Baghdad.\u003cbr/\u003eFiling into the hall, these young students are ready for their next ballet lesson. \u003cbr/\u003eMany dream of one day dancing professionally - but there are many obstacles that lie in their path.\u003cbr/\u003eIraqi Music and Ballet School is the only teaching venue of its kind. \u003cbr/\u003eWhat is also rare is that it isn't segregated by sex like almost all Iraqi schools. \u003cbr/\u003eMale and female students of all ages take classes together.\u003cbr/\u003eToday's class is full of children keen to learn the finer points of ballet. \u003cbr/\u003eOne of them is Balkis Ahmed.\u003cbr/\u003eShe hopes to make ballet a full time career one day.\u003cbr/\u003e''I have been dancing ballet for two years. I hope that I'll complete my study in this regard. This is my hobby. I wish to be famous in ballet so that I can take part in international festivals,'' she explains. \u003cbr/\u003eThe school now has around 500 students, but it hasn't always been so full. \u003cbr/\u003eFounded in 1969, the school thrived while the city's elite patronised art and culture.\u003cbr/\u003eBut things began to rapidly worsen for Baghdad, and the school as well, with Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.\u003cbr/\u003eRussian ballet and music instructors - some from the prestigious Bolshoi Theatre in Russia - who were hired to teach at the Baghdad school were sent home.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd in 2003, the school was looted just days after Saddam Hussein's fall, and was then partially damaged by fire a year later. \u003cbr/\u003eTo many of the more religious Baghdadis, ballet, and to a less extent music, was increasingly seen as immoral and anti-Islamic.\u003cbr/\u003eThe daily bombings, assassinations and kidnapping for ransom often forced parents to often keep their children at home and it's thought the school's size shrank to around one hundred pupils during the worst of the sectarian violence.\u003cbr/\u003eThrough the darkest days of post-Saddam Baghdad, the school survived by removing its large street sign to escape unwanted attention. \u003cbr/\u003eChildren hid their musical instruments in public or left them at the school. \u003cbr/\u003eAnd the school's best Iraqi ballet and music teachers fled the violence, seeking employment in neighbouring countries. \u003cbr/\u003eWhile the school now has more students, many parents pull their daughters out of ballet when they are 12 or 13.\u003cbr/\u003eIt's claimed this is because they object on religious grounds to the girls being lifted and embraced by boys their age while performing.\u003cbr/\u003eAll of the current teachers are from Iraq. \u003cbr/\u003eJumana Khalid is one of them.\u003cbr/\u003e''I am facing hardships and obstacles because people don't understand and perceive what ballet is. People expect ballet as an ordinary dance. But in fact it is a marvellous art,'' she explains.\u003cbr/\u003eAs class continues for the day, it seems Baghdad's troubles have done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of these students - or their future dreams. \u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eBaghdad, Iraq - 19 November 2014   \u003cbr/\u003e1. Various of female and male students entering the ballet hall ahead of their lesson \u003cbr/\u003e2. Mid of students walking towards the barre to start their lesson\u003cbr/\u003e3. Various of class in progress\u003cbr/\u003e4. Close-up of student's feet\u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide of class in progress\u003cbr/\u003e6. Close-up of student Balkis Ahmed\u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Balkis Ahmed, Student: \u003cbr/\u003e''I have been dancing ballet for two years. I hope that I'll complete my study in this regard. This is my hobby. I wish to be famous in Ballet so that I can take part in international festivals.'' \u003cbr/\u003e8. Mid of teacher Jumana Khalid instructing students\u003cbr/\u003e9. Various of class in progress\u003cbr/\u003e10. Mid of Khalid going to help Ahmed\u003cbr/\u003e11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jumana Khalid, Teacher:  \u003cbr/\u003e''I face hardships and obstacles because people don't understand and perceive what ballet is. People expect ballet to be an ordinary dance. But in fact it is a marvellous art.''   \u003cbr/\u003e12. Various of Balkis performing a solo dance \u003cbr/\u003e13. Wide of class taking part in floor exercises\u003cbr/\u003e14. Mid of Ahmed during class \u003cbr/\u003e15. Reverse shot of class in progress\u003cbr/\u003e16. Mid of students sitting down \u003cbr/\u003e17. Various of students doing exercise while sat on the floor\u003cbr/\u003e18. Low shot of Khalid taking part in feet exercises\u003cbr/\u003e19. Wide of students walking outside Music and Ballet School\u003cbr/\u003e20. Close-up of sign reading: (Arabic) ''Music and Ballet School'' \u003cbr/\u003e21. Wide of student entering building \u003cbr/\u003e22. 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