Photos: Syrian choreographer-dancer performs across an empty Paris

By HT Correspondent

Updated On Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Syrian choreographer and dancer Yara al-Hasbani 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, photographed by AFP. 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.

Share Via

Copy Link

1 / 7

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front the Louvre museum pyramid in Paris on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). Hasbani, her mother and two siblings came to France three years ago after they were granted refugee visas in Europe. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front the Louvre museum pyramid in Paris on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). Hasbani, her mother and two siblings came to France three years ago after they were granted refugee visas in Europe. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

2 / 7

Yara Al-Hasbani, 27-year-old, a Syrian dancer and choreographer looks through the window of a car reflecting the Eiffel tower in Paris, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), on April 22. She first arrived in Rochefort, a scenic port town in the southwest of France, and then moved to Paris in 2016, a city where she found it difficult to settle at first. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Yara Al-Hasbani, 27-year-old, a Syrian dancer and choreographer looks through the window of a car reflecting the Eiffel tower in Paris, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), on April 22. She first arrived in Rochefort, a scenic port town in the southwest of France, and then moved to Paris in 2016, a city where she found it difficult to settle at first. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

3 / 7

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris . Her first visit to the famous Palais Garnier theatre opened the emotional floodgates and made her create the performance "Unstoppable," a 12-minute solo retracing her journey to exile. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris . Her first visit to the famous Palais Garnier theatre opened the emotional floodgates and made her create the performance "Unstoppable," a 12-minute solo retracing her journey to exile. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

4 / 7

Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of Paris' Opera Garnier. 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. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of Paris' Opera Garnier. 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. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

5 / 7

Yara al-Hasbani performs in Montmartre with Paris in the background. Her dance may be silent, she said once, but she'll carry on "raising her voice so people don't forget." (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Yara al-Hasbani performs in Montmartre with Paris in the background. Her dance may be silent, she said once, but she'll carry on "raising her voice so people don't forget." (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

6 / 7

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris on April 22, 2020, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris on April 22, 2020, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

7 / 7

Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of Paris' Arc de Triomphe. “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.” (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Updated on Apr 27, 2020 11:36 am IST

Yara al-Hasbani performs in front of Paris' Arc de Triomphe. “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.” (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Home / Photos / News / Photos: Syrian choreographer-dancer performs across an empty Paris

SHARE

Copy

Whatsapp Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Copyright © 2026 HT Digital Streams Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Your Subscription Plan

Saved Articles

Subscribe Now!

Follow Us On