Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)

The Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, commonly abbreviated HIDA, is a Syrian institution devoted to higher education and professional preparation in theatre and related performing arts. It was established in Damascus in 1977 by a group of academics and cultural figures associated with the development of modern Syrian theatre, including playwright Saadallah Wannous, theatre critic Ghassan al-Maleh, and Hannan Kassab Hassan, a professor of theatre at Damascus University. Its creation marked a significant institutional shift in Syria: dramatic practice was developed not only through repertory companies and informal apprenticeship, but also through structured academic study. The institute's original academic organization comprised five areas: acting, literary criticism, dramatic arts, scenography, and theatre techniques. A dance department was added later, broadening the institution's scope beyond spoken drama to include movement, choreography, and performance. The curriculum and professional environment have supported training in performance, directing, dramaturgy, theatre history and criticism, visual design, stagecraft, and other practical and analytical aspects of theatre. The institute has therefore functioned both as an educational institution and as an important node in Syria's cultural infrastructure. HIDA's influence extends well beyond its classrooms. Its alumni and associated artists include actors such as Fares Al-Helou, Taim Hasan, Dima Kandalaft, Kosai Khauli, Sulafa Memar, Jamal Suliman, Bassem Yakhour, and other figures active in Syrian and Arab cinema, television, and theatre. Its graduates also include playwrights and theatre-makers such as Liwaa Yazji and Mohammad Al Attar, as well as artists working in contemporary dance and movement performance. Noura Mourad, for example, became a teacher of modern dance and performance after graduating and later directed the Leish Troupe, whose work received recognition at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theater. The institute has acquired an unusually prominent position in Syrian cultural life. Academic commentary has described it as retaining comparatively broad room for curricular autonomy and artistic expression despite operating in an authoritarian political environment and a socially conservative setting. That position helped make HIDA a major training ground for generations of theatre professionals and a place where modern dramatic forms could be studied and debated. Its productions and artistic networks have reached audiences in Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Germany, and other countries. The Syrian uprising and ensuing war profoundly affected the institute's wider artistic community. From late 2011, many younger graduates relocated first to Beirut, which by 2013 had become a significant center for emerging Syrian artistic work. From 2014 onward, further displacement took artists to Western Europe and elsewhere, with Berlin becoming an important settlement and production center for parts of the Syrian theatre community. This dispersal changed how HIDA-trained artists worked, circulated, and collaborated, while also extending the institute's cultural influence through exile and international production. The institute is located near Umayyad Square, beside the Higher Institute of Music and the Damascus Opera House.

The Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts was founded in Damascus in 1977 during a period when Syrian theatre was becoming more institutionalized and increasingly connected to modern Arab dramatic practice. Its founders included the playwright Saadallah Wannous, theatre critic Ghassan al-Maleh, and Hannan Kassab Hassan, a theatre professor at Damascus University. The institute was intended to prepare a new generation of theatre professionals through systematic academic study rather than relying exclusively on company-based experience or informal training. At its establishment, HIDA organized instruction around acting, literary criticism, dramatic arts, scenography, and theatre techniques. These fields combined the practical requirements of theatre production with theoretical and critical study. The later addition of dance expanded the institute's remit into movement, choreography, and contemporary performance. The resulting structure allowed students to approach theatre as a collaborative art involving performers, writers, directors, designers, critics, and technical specialists. Over time, HIDA became one of the most important institutions in Syrian cultural life. Its graduates entered theatre, television, film, criticism, and contemporary performance, while teachers and alumni contributed to the development of new dramatic languages. Among the associated artists are actors Fares Al-Helou, Giana Eid, Sabah Jazairi, Taim Hasan, Dima Kandalaft, Kosai Khauli, Samer al-Masry, Sulafa Memar, Rania Mleihi, Nanda Mohammad, Amal Omran, Fadi Skeiker, Jamal Suliman, Fares Yaghi, Bassem Yakhour, and Helen Al-Janabi. The institute also produced or supported playwrights and theatre-makers including Liwaa Yazji and Mohammad Al Attar. The dance and movement dimension became particularly visible through artists such as Noura Mourad. After graduating, Mourad taught modern dance and performance at the institute and directed the Leish Troupe, a movement-theatre ensemble that won a scenography prize at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theater in 2000. Her later work, including the 2009 performance “Congratulations!”, used dance and wedding rituals to examine gender, power, marriage, and social double standards in Syria. HIDA-trained and associated artists have presented work in Syria and abroad, including in Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Germany, and other locations. Scholarly discussion of the institute has emphasized its exceptional prestige and its comparatively substantial space for curricular autonomy and artistic expression, especially in relation to other cultural and educational sectors operating under Syria's authoritarian political system. The Syrian uprising and subsequent war altered the geographic life of the institute's artistic community. Beginning in late 2011, a number of younger alumni who had completed their studies in the early 2000s moved to Beirut. By 2013, Beirut had become an important hub for emerging Syrian artistic activity. From 2014, further displacement carried many artists to Western Europe and other regions, with Berlin becoming a major place of settlement for parts of the Syrian theatre community. This movement produced new forms of artistic circulation, exile-based production, and international collaboration, while also separating many HIDA-trained artists from the institute's Damascus setting. The institution is situated near Umayyad Square, next to the Higher Institute of Music and the Damascus Opera House.

• 2014

  Further displacement toward Europe

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  A later phase of displacement took many Syrian artists to Western Europe and elsewhere; Berlin became a key settlement for part of the Syrian theatre community.

• 2013

  Beirut becomes an important Syrian arts hub

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  Beirut developed into a significant center for emerging Syrian artistic work, including work by artists connected to HIDA.

• 2011

  Beginning of major artistic displacement

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  From late 2011, the Syrian conflict contributed to the relocation of younger HIDA alumni and other members of the Syrian arts community, initially toward Beirut.

• 2009

  Mourad presents “Congratulations!”

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  Noura Mourad and the Leish Troupe presented a contemporary dance work examining Syrian wedding performance, gender, power, and social expectations.

• 2000

  Leish Troupe receives scenography recognition

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  The Leish Troupe, directed by HIDA graduate and teacher Noura Mourad, won the award for best scenography at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theater.

• 1977

  Institute founded in Damascus

  [1]Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org

  The Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts was established by Syrian theatre academics and cultural figures, including Saadallah Wannous, Ghassan al-Maleh, and Hannan Kassab Hassan.

A nationally influential Syrian specialist institution for academically grounded dramatic-arts education, combining performance training with criticism, dramaturgy, design, technical theatre, and later dance studies.

• Academic theatre training · 1977

  Acting

  The acting field provides specialist preparation for stage performance within the institute's broader dramatic-arts curriculum. HIDA-trained actors have gone on to work across Syrian and Arab theatre, television, and cinema, making the acting program one of the institution's most visible areas of influence.

• Theatre criticism and theory · 1977

  Literary Criticism

  This area addresses the analysis, interpretation, and critical study of dramatic literature and theatre. Its inclusion in the original structure positioned HIDA as more than a vocational performance school, giving students an academic framework for understanding theatrical texts, traditions, and cultural contexts.

• Dramaturgy and theatre studies · 1977

  Dramatic Arts

  The dramatic-arts field covers the creative and scholarly dimensions of theatre-making, including dramatic forms and the development of modern theatrical practice. It helped establish the institute as a center for playwrights, directors, and other artists working beyond conventional acting roles.

• Stage and performance design · 1977

  Scenography

  Scenography focuses on the visual and spatial construction of performance, including stage environments and related design practice. The field reflects HIDA's emphasis on theatre as a collaborative art and is also associated with the international recognition received by the Leish Troupe under Noura Mourad.

• Technical theatre · 1977

  Theatre Techniques

  Theatre techniques provides academic and practical preparation for the technical side of stage production. It complements acting, writing, criticism, and design by addressing the specialized skills required to realize theatrical work in performance spaces.

• Dance and movement performance

  Dance

  Added after the institute's original five departments, the dance field extended HIDA's work into movement, choreography, and contemporary performance. Its influence can be seen in the work of Noura Mourad and other artists exploring the relationship between dance, theatre, social ritual, and questions of gender and power.

1. 1Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Young Documentary Theatre on Syrian Stages: An Aesthetic of Circulation, Exile, and Engagementdoi.org