Palestinian dancer mixes art, identity and resistance at World Culture Festival
Under the bright lights of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Palestinian dancer Yousef Sbieh moved with a blend of grace and restrained anguish
KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) — Under the bright lights of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Palestinian dancer Yousef Sbieh moves with a blend of grace and restrained anguish, portraying a bird yearning for unity in the allegorical production Conference of the Birds, inspired by a 12th-century Sufi poem.
The 33-year-old artist from Jerusalem performed at the World Culture Festival, which gathered participants from 141 countries. His role — a finch, known in Arabic as Hassoun — carries deep cultural symbolism in Palestine, representing freedom, endurance, and grace.
“My role in this performance is the bird, the finch,” Sbieh told Arab News. “It’s a very popular bird in Palestine, and people are proud when they have it.”
Traveling as a freelance artist, Sbieh said his connection to Jerusalem remains unbroken, despite “tough situations and injustice” faced by his family. For him, the stage mirrors reality — a place where “everyone’s life is respected and has the same value.”
The production, directed and choreographed by Wendy Jehlen, adapts Farid ud-Din Attar’s Persian masterpiece, in which the birds embark on a spiritual journey to find the mythical Simorgh, a symbol of divine unity. Ultimately, the seekers discover the divine resides within themselves — a message Jehlen said reflects “the journey of humanity.”
“We have no choice but to take it together, in all our glorious diversity,” Jehlen told Arab News. “Despite divisions, the underlying reality of humanity is that we are one.”
Jehlen noted that Sbieh’s inclusion reshaped the production after he joined in 2023, replacing an Egyptian performer unable to travel. She recalled his first rehearsals in Ramallah: “He danced running up against the wall, trying to get through it — it was clear he had to stay with us.”
The director, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, described herself as “extremely anti-Zionist” and said the worsening global climate after October 2023 added urgency to the production’s themes of exile and displacement. “This is really the most important story that can be told right now,” she said.
For Sbieh, performing abroad comes with mixed emotions. “I feel a little bit of guilt because even living is some sort of privilege where I come from,” he said, adding that life in Jerusalem, though relatively stable, cannot compare to the suffering in Gaza.
He said he had lost contact with fellow artists there. “I have no clue what happened with them,” he said, describing his sense of helplessness.
Sbieh believes performance itself is an obligation for Palestinian artists. “We should remind the world that we have the same human rights as everyone else,” he said. “We must be the voice of those who don’t have one.”
Despite decades of adversity, he said Palestinians remain resilient. “It has been over 75 years of people trying to wipe us off, but that’s not going to happen,” he said.
“Palestine has always existed with people who are educated, who love to share and connect with different cultures,” Sbieh added. “This festival is a reminder of that.”
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