63Kolektib’s powerful new performance reimagines the metro as emotional, communal space
In a city defined by movement, Metro Diaries finds poetry in the everyday. Commissioned by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and premiering this June in The Black Box, this original production by UAE-based collective 63Kolektib turns the humble metro ride into a stage, both literal and metaphorical.
Part theatre, part spoken word, and part dance, Metro Diaries is a visceral meditation on life in transit. It captures the fragments of lives that pass us by: a glance exchanged, a tired mother’s sigh, the laughter of schoolkids, a man reading a letter in silence. These fleeting human moments, usually lost to the blur of daily commutes, are drawn together into a moving portrait of modern Dubai, where thousands travel every day, alone but together.
The work is the brainchild of Trixie Danielle, Juan Gonzales, and Jomel Duran Reyes, all Filipino artists rooted in the UAE’s creative scene. Alongside dancer Rei Co, they interweave movement and narrative to reflect the realities, joys, and quiet aches of migrant life.
This is not just a performance, it is an invitation to listen more deeply, to observe the overlooked, and to find beauty in the everyday chaos of urban living.
63Kolektib: Telling stories that move
Founded by Filipino artists living in the UAE, 63Kolektib is an artist-led community dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices, especially migrant ones.
Drawing from disciplines like theatre, poetry, movement, and performance art, their work challenges dominant narratives of displacement, identity, and cultural memory.
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Their approach is intimate, accessible, and grounded in lived experience. Whether crafting new works like Metro Diaries or leading storytelling workshops across the country, the collective uses performance as both a mirror and a bridge, to reflect realities and connect communities.
Meet the artists
Trixie Danielle
A multidisciplinary artist, Trixie explores migration, memory, and the Filipino diaspora through theatre and poetry. Her storytelling blends personal history with collective cultural threads. She was a 2024 Numoo Arts fellow at NYUAD.
Juan Gonzales
A Dubai-based theatre-maker and co-founder of 63Kolektib, Juan’s work is deeply informed by his own migrant experience. Metro Diaries marks his first original devised work since leaving the Philippines in 2016. He also participated in the inaugural Numoo cohort in 2021-22.
Jomel Duran Reyes
A performance-maker in Abu Dhabi, Jomel is passionate about cultural preservation and migrant narratives. His reimaginings of Filipino literary classics like Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang bring fresh context to heritage through the lens of diasporic life. He also participated in the inaugural Numoo cohort in 2021-22.
Rei Co
A rising star in the UAE dance scene, Rei began dancing professionally at age 12. A member of Sima Dance Company, her performances have lit up stages at Expo 2020, Dubai Opera, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, and beyond. At 18, she debuted her first original work, INA.
What’s in a commute?
Why Metro Diaries hits closer to home than you think
Every day, millions of people step into metro cars, tired, hopeful, distracted, dreaming. For many, these few minutes of travel are among the only moments of stillness or solitude they get. But what if those fleeting moments were actually rich with story?
Metro Diaries captures that essence:
- A mother heading to work before sunrise
- A teenager rehearsing TikTok moves in the reflection
- A construction worker texting home
- A tourist trying to read a map upside down
- A student, earbuds in, lost in thought
In these small in-betweens, life unfolds. Moments that seem ordinary become poetry in motion.
A Theatre of the People
Metro Diaries extends beyond the stage with free community workshops, where participants are encouraged to share their own commuting stories and explore theatre as a tool for connection and cultural reflection. Through these sessions, 63Kolektib invites the wider public into their creative world, proving that everyone has a story worth telling.
VENUE: The Black Box The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
DATES & TIMES: Saturday, 21 June | 2.30pm & 7.30pm Sunday, 22 June | 2.30pm
TICKETS: Head to Public Programs
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