PARIS: Dancer Yara Al-Hasbani is used to causing a stir everywhere she goes.
The Syrian choreographer has drawn crowds across France for her performances in public squares and parks.
But there wasn’t a soul in sight as she performed a series of spectacular ballet moves in front of the deserted grand monuments of Paris for AFP.
With the French capital in lockdown for nearly six weeks because of the coronavirus, the 26-year-old had some of the most visited sites in the world to herself.
Wearing a white mask, she danced an arabesque in front of the Louvre museum, an “attitude derriere” on the steps of Sacre Coeur and did a “six o’clock” with one leg right up to her head by the Arc du Triomphe.
Trained as a ballet and contemporary dancer in Damascus, Al-Hasbani left her war-torn homeland six years ago and is now a member of the Atelier of Artists in Exile in the French capital, where she has lived since 2016.
“It is really strange to see these monuments deserted,” said the choreographer.
She said it was wonderful “to admire the city without noise and tourists but at the same time it was sad, as if it was abandoned.”
Perhaps the most spectacular images come from Human Rights Square — a cause dear to Al-Hasbani’s heart — at Trocadero looking out at the Eiffel Tower.
She has previously danced at Place de la Republique, a traditional rallying point for protests in the French capital, where she created her first piece outside Syria in memory of the hundreds of children killed in a chemical attack near Damascus in August 2015.
Syrian dancer takes a spookily empty Paris as her canvas
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Syrian dancer takes a spookily empty Paris as her canvas
- The Syrian choreographer has drawn crowds across France for her performances in public squares and parks
- Trained as a ballet and contemporary dancer in Damascus, Al-Hasbani left her war-torn homeland six years ago and is now a member of the Atelier of Artists in Exile in the French capital
REVIEW: ‘Is This Thing On?’ — stars elevate Bradley Cooper’s low-key rom-com
DUBAI: Bradley Cooper’s latest directorial effort is based — loosely — on the life of popular UK comedian John Bishop, so you might expect stand-up to be its focus. It isn’t. This is a bittersweet low-key depiction of a love that has eroded between a couple who’ve been together for decades.
Alex (Will Arnett, of “Arrested Development” and “BoJack Horseman” fame) — a regular guy with a regular job — and Tess (Oscar winner Laura Dern) — a former Olympic volleyball player, now a housewife and mom — are separated, heading for a mutually agreed divorce, and keeping it amicable partly for the sake of their two kids, partly because they still get on well — just not well enough to stay together.
Newly single Alex decides to get a late-night drink at New York’s famed Comedy Cellar. To avoid paying the $15 dollar entry fee, he signs up for a slot at the open-mic night (a part inspired by Bishop’s own origin story). With no material planned, he’s not great, but his self-deprecating, anecdotes about his impending divorce get a few laughs. Most importantly, the experience sparks a new passion in Alex and he continues to perform, befriending other comics who offer him companionship and advice and a new perspective that leads him to re-evaluate his own contributions to his marriage. His newfound spark also makes Tess see him in a new light, one that might just convince her to give him another shot.
What elevates this sometimes-saccharine, not-entirely-believable (exhibit A: the scene where Tess discovers that Alex is using their relationship as comedy material) film above similar fare is the engrossing chemistry on show between Arnett and Dern as people struggling to (re)discover themselves in middle age. Arnett is typically charming and witty as Alex, but brings out unexpected depths of emotion in what may be his best performance to date. Dern imbues Tess Tess with the toughness and independence you’d expect from a successful former pro athlete, but gives equal weight to her vulnerabilities as someone who’s invested so much of her identity into something she can no longer do to the same high standards. Their relationship is so sweetly genuine you’ll find yourself rooting for them both.
