Critics Call It a ‘Song of Hope’ : Lebanese Youths Trying to End War With Ballet, Not Bullets

A teen-age ballet that features the sound of exploding shells and machine-gun fire has become a new weapon in Lebanon’s growing anti-war movement.

Seventeen colorfully clad teen-agers performed in the premiere of “Kfar Sama” (Sama Village) recently at a hall in Christian East Beirut.

Dancers circled a cedar tree, Lebanon’s national symbol, to a lively tune that soon turned into a dirge. One dancer, 12-year-old Karim, was portrayed as being killed by a shell and lay motionless on the stage.

“The spectacle shows the effect of a merciless war that turned a peaceful life into hell,” said Maronite Christian priest Father Mansour Labaky, the author of the story.

The hourlong performance of music and dance, which depicts the disastrous effects of the war on a fictional mountain village, has struck a chord with Lebanese weary of a 13-year-old civil war that has killed about 125,000 people and forced thousands to become refugees in their own country.

Some critics called it a “song of hope.”

Labaky called the conflict a war of aliens on Lebanese territory and said Kfar Sama was “a symbol for every village in Lebanon that suffered from war and its consequences.”

“Children everywhere should declare their rejection of war and death and plead for a new world full of love,” he said.

“ ‘Kfar Sama’ represents a message of peace and love to all the peoples of the world,” said troupe instructor Myriam Rizkallah.

The audience at the premiere, including diplomats, political and religious leaders, poets and artists, were reminded of the dark days of the war as the recorded sound of machine-gun fire and exploding shells echoed around the room.

About 200 war orphans from various parts of Lebanon were invited to a special showing.

In the past year Lebanon has seen a growing movement of protest against militia violence, with intercommunal demonstrations and marches to parliament.

A group of young people staged a Love and Friendship Day in Beirut and its suburbs recently, handing out leaflets showing a heart and a shining dove over the map of Lebanon and setting up “love checkpoints” to rival those run by armies and militiamen.

Labaky said “Kfar Sama” was “a reminder of the past, of wars that have torn the country apart, killed people and destroyed their homes.”

“But love which is stronger than hatred is bound to create a new world, and this is what ‘Kfar Sama’ means.”

Foreign countries closely involved in Lebanon’s past should help it now to regain its former image and support the restoration of normal life, he said.

The troupe will visit France and hopes to travel farther “to present our case to the outside world,” Rizkallah said.

“We also hope to run the same spectacle in other parts of Lebanon to remind all Lebanese of their past and bring them hope for the future.”