YouTube has launched a whole new path to fame, even serving as the platform that propelled the now infamous Canadian star Justin Bieber into the spotlight. The social network has helped countless of creatives around the world find a place to showcase their talent to a global audience.

Iraqi dancer Adil Faraj uploaded his first video "Annoying" to YouTube last year. Having dreamed of becoming a professional dancer from a young age, he found inspiration from American pop star Michael Jackson's music videos. With the release of his YouTube videos, Faraj caught the attention of Jonathan Hollander, the director of the New York-based Battery Dance Company.

The dance company reached out to Faraj and began providing him training sessions via Skype. Hollander told AP  "Sometimes his little brother would walk across the screen." He also explained that Faraj would often bump into furniture inside his small living room during the lessons.

Following six months of lesson, Faraj met up with the dance company in Amman for a series of intense dance training, practicing more than five hours a day. In the end, the training paid off when he performed a solo dance to the Gary Jules' song "Mad World" along with his American mentors, Sean Scantlebury and Mira Cook, at the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival earlier this month.

Now 22-years old, Faraj feels proud of what he has been able to accomplish, especially considering the challenges he faced.

Speaking to the AP after his performance, Faraj said "I felt tremendous joy."

"It is like a dream."

Baghdad wasn't the most hospitable environment for a young aspiring dancer. Faraj faced opposition from extended family members and family friends, as well as physical attacks by other Iraqis and even a police officer on one occasion. His parents supported him, although they admitted it was sometimes difficult. Faraj's father explained to that relatives and neighbors tried to get him to stop his son from pursuing his dreams.

"Some of them expressed their objection and approached me so that I could convince him to give up," he said.

"I severed ties with some of them, while some of them changed their opinions when they saw his successes and are now encouraging him."

Although Faraj admits that he loves his home in Baghdad, after his experience in Amman, he doesn't see it as a place he can go back to permanently.

"If there were no problems in Iraq with dance and people liked dance, then I would have no problem being there," Faraj said. "But that isn't so, and I can't imagine any other solution than to leave Iraq. ... I will come back to teach and dance, but I will never permanently return there."

In the 1960s and '70s, Baghdad was known as a blossoming metropolis for the development of the arts. Now, after decades of political upheaval and war, the city of 7 million only has one cinema and three theaters for performance. Religious extremism and sectarian strife have left a lasting scar on the once-vibrant dance community of the city.

Yet, despite all the odds and with a little help from the Internet, Adil Faraj has made his childhood dreams come true. And for that, our hats go off to him.

Check Faraj out in this video from the Amman Jazz Festival (His performance begins right before the five minute mark):