Though the Iraqi capital’s past as a cultural center is a distant memory, the music and ballet school has remained a cultural safe haven for its 500-odd studentsAnn Khalid did not feel well but she insisted on dancing a brief scene from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with her classmates. The 12-year-old is determined to one day have a career dancing and teaching ballet – not an easy path in a country torn for years by conflict.“My school and my church are the two things I love the most in Baghdad,”Khalid, in her black leotard and white ballet shoes, said with pride after the dance.