Yasmine Nassar | Staff Writer

In our culture, we tend to focus on making a living rather than focusing on the ‘living’ part of it, enjoying life and letting others enjoy their own as well. That’s because of the constant pressure in our society to have reputable careers and make our families proud. Our culture has correlated success with payment rather than happiness and self-expression, which has led the Arab community, especially our elders, to frown upon people who choose art as a career track. Such stereotypes have made artists’ paths a struggle. With art being a brutal track to pursue on its own, Mounir Al Serawan, a Syrian male Ballet dancer and Filmmaker, had his career path become one of the most inspiring ever witnessed. Ballet is a soft and elegant art form to pursue, which makes his art choice quite controversial, being “too feminine” and a “threat to his masculinity”- as our culture would say.

Mounir started his ballet journey two years ago. Before that, he expressed himself through hip-hop and street dance. He claims that he didn’t enjoy them as much as he expected; however, Mounir needed an outlet for his energy, so he chose the option that seemed more society be-fitting, the more masculine choice, the one that his peers seemed to pursue. In 2019, Mounir watched a dance production called “90 Minutes” choreographed by Reem Naamani, and got inspired to contact her and launch his dance career from there. He started taking ballet lessons, though his surroundings weren’t accepting of his passion.

Drifting away from the norms of what a man is supposed to adopt as a hobby, Mounir’s father immediately rejected his son’s choice and even went to the extent of kicking him out of the house.  As if losing his parents’ support and his home wasn’t trouble-causing enough, his closest friends didn’t provide any form of support either. In an interview with Mounir, he mentioned how some of his dearest friends unfollowed him on social media after he started portraying his ballet journey online. He also stated how cyberbullying was frequent and he mostly heard insults, such as “he is violating his masculinity” and “لوطي”. He had added that he thinks the discrimination against artists and the disrespect is “unfair”. Which is something I agree with. As a dancer myself, I was always encouraged to choose a different hobby because this one “isn’t a real talent/sport”. Art, specifically that of dancing, isn’t appreciated in Arab culture, and it truly isn’t fair. Jobs related to Ballet and dance in general don’t pay well and most of which are related to commercials or music videos. These videos place the dancers in a secondary position and further demean their career’s importance.

Similar to those who had to quit because of the economic crisis hurdling their dreams, Mounir had thought about quitting a couple of times due to the expenses of his dance lessons, the bullying, and lack of support, but he proceeded to work on his passion and eventually developed relations with people who encourage him to continue his artistic journey. Then after watching him thriving to pursue his “hobby” in all seriousness and slowly gaining success, his parents came around.

Inspired by his struggle with his father and society, Mounir produced a film called ” The Leap”.  He mentioned while explaining the idea behind the film: “The story tackles the life of ‘Raed’, an angelic human, whose life is about art, yet society buries him alive for the sake of keeping culture unchanged”. With the film taking nine months of work, Mounir described the whole production process as “emotional”; he wrote the script with his “heart rather than his hand” as, to him, the process was “an escape from the trauma”. It was a sentimental story to him, but he also made the film relatable to every other artist in our country/culture. I’d like to add that his film won him a “Best First Time Director” award at the Halicarnassus Film Festival 2021.

What’s most intriguing about the film and what completes the story is its funders. Mounir was able to fund the production with the help of some contacts. However, in mid-production, his father, who used to think his passion was a disgrace, decided to co-fund the film’s advancement. Mounir thought it was a beautiful moment. His father finally became fully accepting of his son’s ambitions and goals. To Mounir, it was a moment of connection with his father.

At the end of my interview with our beloved male ballet dancer, he sends this message: he encourages everyone to keep fighting for their passions. He says that it is a complicated journey, but everyone should fight for their dreams. He adds that Lebanon needs us artists; we are the change, we are the hope, “نحن الأمل”.