Syrian dancers perform show about their plight in Germany

CAIRO – 11 October 2017: Three Syrian dancers will be touring across Germany from October 26 - 28, in order to recount the experiences that forced them to flee; packaging the plight of the refugee crisis in an artistic new light.

"Come as You Are," directed by German choreographer Nir de Volff with his company TOTAL BRUTAL, follows these three dancers, Medhat Al-Daabal, Moufak Al-Doabl and Amr Karkout as they recount their experiences from the beginning; going over the war in Syria, their flight in Europe, and how they eventually settled in Germany.

Daabal and Doabl had traveled together from Syria in 2015 alongside a wave of nearly 1 million other refugees, while Karkout joined them later. Back in Syria, they were all professional dancers, and this talent is all they were able to take with them. At first, their skills were not translated well into Berlin, as they came from a background based on ballet, considerably more relaxed than the competitive dance culture in Germany.

"Come as You Are" also chronicles their artistic growth together, as the three come together to rebuild their lives and careers far away from their war-torn home. The show even covers the more mundane aspects of their experiences, from job-hunting to finding a home, and the loneliness that comes with their situation.

"This project is much beyond artistic mission. It is a simple human mission,” de Volff tells the Associated Press in his interview with them. “To show empathy and to show understanding,” he added.