Away from War, Syrians Find Their Rhythm in Ballroom Dancing

Couples dance at a club in Damascus, Syria, June 13, 2022. For the participants, ballroom dancing is a form of release, finding their rhythm in music away from their country’s many social and economic pressures. (AP)

One, two, three, stop. Five, six, seven, stop: A group of young Syrian men and women step, sway and twirl to the backdrop of salsa music, dancing their worries away.

For an hour a week in a Damascus studio, their instructor Adnan Mohammed, 42, teaches a class the basics of Latin dancing, helping his students forget the troubles of war - if even briefly.