Dancing With The Stars -Middle East , season 5

At the end of October we headed to Beirut , Lebanon for season 5 of DWTS Middle East .

We were excited about this project as the last season of the program was almost 2 years ago , the break seemed to last too long and everyone was eager to do it again .

As discussed with the production team , the motto of the new season was supposed to be " Young , Fresh and Fun " . The broadcasting channel MTV wanted to make sure after such a long break of the show they come back with a brand new look and vibe . They even changed the production team replacing the one who was doing the program for 4 seasons . Also the other choreographers have changed so we had brand new colleagues in Team Choreographers . Looked like everyone was up for revolution !

But none of us expected that there was another revolution on the rising !

Usually we fly to Beirut from Istanbul so that we can spend some time in the city we love and see some of our friends there . The night before the flight in Istanbul everything seemed fine and going according to plan . We got on the plane in the morning and just before landing in Beirut there were people on board watching videos and discussing over some breaking news . We asked what is happening and they told us during the night revolution started in Beirut and at the moment there are protestants on the streets with fire and most the roads are blocked ! As surprising as this news might be we were not worried as we knew where we were going and that from the production they always take good care of us . We didn't realise how serious the situation was until we landed and switched on our phones - there were like tens of missed calls , text and voice messages from the production team . They were telling us about the revolution and that no one is allowed to come to the airport , the driver can't come to pick us up and we can't leave the airport !

Ok , still not worried , big deal - we thought ! There were hundreds of people stuck at the airport but everyone was patiently waiting and most of them were even excited and happy about what was happening on the streets of Beirut . We waited for like 2 hours and then he came - Mr. Fireball ! You will find out why we named him so later on but he came with his motorbike as it was the only way to cross the barricades . The biggest question now was - how we will get to the hotel with our luggage / 2 big suitcases / with a bike ? ? ? But Mr. Fireball had another plan . " Even the boss of MTV who arrived meanwhile had to walk his way home with the luggage ! " - he said . So we took the challenge .

Half way out of the airport we had a special angel sent from we don't know where - a guy with an old truck and his kid on the backseat stopped by out of nowhere and asked do we need a ride . We looked at him , then at his vehicle , then at Mr. Fireball and with all our respect said we won't get in unless he is coming with us ." Of course I am " - he said and we all went on a crazy ride . Going directly to the barricades we could hear the screaming and the gunshots of the protestants closer and closer and see the smoke and the fire approaching . Miraculously we made it through some of barricades with our angel driver talking the protestants through to let us pass and them we faced a big fire . Before we could even ask what we were going to do, Mohammed , that was the drive's name said " Hold your breath " and he just went with the car ,with ourselves and his 8 year old kid on the back seat , through the fire !!! We felt like we were part of a low budget Hollywood movie . After that we started to call him the Crazy Mohammed - he was proud of himself and we were surprised with ourselves how calm we remained during this cascade . But promised we will not share it with our parents , they still don't know about it - hopefully they won't read this blog .

As crazy as Mohammed was he couldn't drive us to the hotel as most of the roads were blocked . He dropped us on a crossroad and somehow we were lucky to catch a taxi to make our way to the hotel . That was the most memorable welcoming we ever had . Guess it can happen only in Beirut .

And that's how our season 5 experience began . Everyone thought the revolution won't last for long but they were wrong . For a few days we couldn't leave the hotel , all the roads were closed , people refused to go to work and those who wanted couldn't do so as they were stopped by the protestants blocking all the main roads.

Eventually we made it to the office of MTV and started to work on the show but it was on and off - a few productive days followed by another few stuck in the hotel .

The new choreographers were Denys Samson from Ukraine and Salome Chachua from Georgia . We got along very well and had great times together on the very few occasions we managed to go out . There were so many things we wanted to show them in Lebanon and looked like we are gonna have a great season ahead of us .

Unfortunately the protests affected the economy and the life of the people in a negative way more than expected . The government refused to resign and the political crisis got worse and worse . We didn't feel it that much but through our contact with the local Lebanese people we could feel they are getting more worried and there was some sense of uncertainty and insecurity . Very often we were advised not to go out and avoid specific areas considered as " not safe " . Still on calmer days when the roads were open we managed to go to some of our favourite places - like Byblos ! We love Byblos so much and won't exaggerate if we say one day we would love to live there .

Although the working process was not as smooth as possible we managed to finish the preparation period and the first two weeks of the show were all done - music , concepts , choreographies . The couples partnered up , we shot the promo of the show and their individual VTs . Must admit that the production team have managed to gather a great cast of celebrities for this season - there were some very promising contenders for the mirror ball trophy both female and male . Can't go into names and revealing more about the cast as it's confidential but it would have been a great season 5 !

Just one week before the first live , with the couples already training and starting their second routines , the production took the hard decision to postpone the show . First it was for only one week ,hoping things will calm down but then the big news came - the show was postponed for January 2020 , we were all going home and eventually coming back after the New Year ! We knew what was happening and honestly left with a heavy heart , feeling that we might not come back and the show won't happen - at least not in a few months .

Season 5 still hasn't started , not sure if it's ever gonna start !

After Covid 19 hit the world and the economic crisis in Lebanon got worse than ever , most of the Lebanese people were struggling to provide for living . And as if this wasn't enough but the explosion in Beirut happened killing hundreds of people , leaving many more homeless and one whole nation in despair .Watching it on the news from home was devastating and made us cry . We were happy all our friends in Lebanon and their families were safe ! We should also say that our hotel wasn't that far from the port where the explosion happened and we are so grateful the program didn't start .Sometimes things don't happen for a reason regardless how much we want it but we have to accept it and trust that it's for good !