'Character arc': Syrian leader watching dance performance to Missy Elliott song goes viral

'Character arc': Syrian leader watching dance performance to Missy Elliott song goes viral Submitted by Pauline Ertel on Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:17 Seeing the militant-turned-president watch a choreographed dance in Damascus to 'Work It' caught the internet by surprise Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a session at Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, on 17 April 2026 (Umit Bektas/Reuters) Off A video of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa watching a dance performance to Missy Elliott's Work It has gone viral, sparking a mix of amusement and confusion on social media. The performance took place on Monday at the recently reopened al-Feyhaa Sports Hall in Damascus, which Sharaa had inaugurated earlier that day before a Syria-Lebanon basketball match later that evening. The game marks the first time Syria and Lebanon have played against each other since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.