PETTEE: storybox, devised by Deepak Unnikrishnan and, like Mehek is set to be a world premier
“The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi is a vital cultural institution,” says Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director. “One that contributes to research and knowledge production, making it more than just a performing arts center that presents existing works.”
Speaking ahead of the second half of The Arts Center’s ninth season, Bill expresses his excitement at The Arts Center’s focus on premieres and commissions.
“It’s important for the UAE not just to import talent, but to be a hub for cultural production. The Arts Center’s commissioned and co-commissioned work fosters creativity and cultural exchange. Our supported works travel globally, showcasing the UAE’s role as a creative engine.”
A case in point is the recent show Mehek by Aakash Odedra and Aditi Mangaldas. Performed at The Arts Center in early February, the captivating contemporary kathak dance performance gave a voice to an unspoken and overlooked love story.
“After two years of workshops, the final show was developed over five weeks in January into early February,” says Bill. “This included a three-week mini J-term (January term) course in which we built a class surrounding the development of the piece.
“We presented the world premiere, and it will be presented in the spring at Sadler’s Wells London, The Lowry in Manchester, and the Hippodrome in Birmingham before eventually heading to other cities in the UK.”
Another example of a world premiere commissioned by The Arts Center is PETTEE: storybox, devised by Deepak Unnikrishnan and, like Mehek, presented with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
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Premiering at The Red Theater on 18 and 19 April, dancers and fabricated landscapes lead the audience into an immersive world of movement, music and flight; interweaving ideas of living and leaving, of sharing real and surreal stories.
“Deepak is also on our faculty. What’s especially exciting about this is that it spotlights the fact that the NYU Abu Dhabi faculty is filled with great artists. In this case, Deepak is one of the most essential writers in the UAE. It’s important for people to understand what’s happening at the University artistically.”
Citing PETTEE: storybox as a “centerpiece of the spring season”, Bill explains how the performance is “a combination of UAE-based artists working with international artists from three continents, an innovation of a new form, and dealing with an issue that is central to conversations on migration in Abu Dhabi.”
Also part of The Arts Center’s collaboration with Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels is the Middle East premiere of Ola Maciejewska’s BOMBYX MORI. Showing at The Red Theater on 7 March, it draws from the innovative early 20th century work of modern dance pioneer Loïe Fuller.
Like in Fuller’s work, BOMBYX MORI explores movement as a result of the interactions between the body and other things (lights, materials, sound), as opposed to movement from within the body. Instant freezes, shape shifts, and outbursts showcase a dance that interweaves with archives and artifice.
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As Season 9 flows into March, The Red Theater played host to two nights of boundary-crossing concerts on 1 and 2 March.
The concentrated weekend of performances featured eclectic music from three genre-defying bands. Pitched as a meeting place of musical streams that cross diverse cultures, with global-minded musicians reflecting varied influences that meld the contemporary and the traditional.
The first day welcomed Egyptian singer Dina El Wedidi and pianist-songwriter-vocalist Samora Pinderhughes from the United States. The concert captured the rich melodic culture of Egyptian music alongside the harmonically sophisticated sounds of American jazz mixed with R&B and post-rock, in an intimate, cross-boundary double bill.
“Dina El Wedidi, an original member of The Nile Project, is an extraordinary artist who uses Egyptian traditional music but mixed with elements of jazz and electronic music,” says Bill. “We’ve been looking for an opportunity to bring her back.”
According to Bill, Samora Pinderhughes is an artist who cannot be easily boxed in, often described as both a jazz pianist and songwriter.
“When you hear his music, you hear R&B, post rock, influences of artists like Radiohead, Gospel. He’s very socially engaged, dealing with issues of the justice system, masculinity and what happens to men who go through the prison system.”
The Black Box is set to play host to Ramadaniyyat: The Boom Diwaniya, presented in partnership with NYUAD Music Program, from 15 to 17 March.
Between the seafaring Arabian Gulf and Swahili Coastal communities, the musical salon is a nexus point for reconnecting musical dialogues of the Western Indian Ocean and beyond and includes Boom Diwan’s Ghazi Al-Mulaifi with members of Kuwait’s Hamad Bin Hussein Ensemble and The Mayouf Mejally Ensemble, violinist Layth Sidiq, and Kenyan musician Mbarak Ali Haji.
“What’s exciting about the artists is that they are working with traditional forms and heritage and making sure that such traditions stay alive” says Bill.
From 1 to 3 May, mental wellness and depression are under the spotlight in an Arabic adaptation of Duncan Macmillan’s Play, Every Brilliant Thing, by leading playwright and director from Cairo Ahmed El Attar.
“It may seem like a heavy subject, but Ahmed approaches the play with a great deal of humour and sweetness.”
Performed in Arabic with simultaneous English translations, the play features Nanda Mohamed, seated alone on an empty stage with only a minimal set, accessories, and music. She has the challenging task of balancing the storyline with the energies of the audience, who are invited to participate and even improvise during the show.
Looking ahead, one of the world’s most romantic ballet, Swan Lake, is reimagined as a family friendly acrobatic spectacular and takes to The Red Theater in the guise of Duck Pond by Circa, which mixes the enchantment of the ballet with the thrill of the circus, emboldened with humour, panache, and feathers.
“Using classic circus performances – no animals of course, Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world’s leading performance companies from Brisbane, Australia,” says Bill. “It is a performance in which we’ve come on board to support the creation of the work, which has already been touring, and will continue to tour globally.”
Duck Pond, which is full of Circa’s signature physicality and shot through with cheeky humour, enchanting duets, and colorful surrealism, is a tale of identity and finding your true self.
Speaking about the works that The Arts Center offers, Bill shares how “the artists are truly integrated into the academic programmes at the university. That said, as the weather becomes warmer and we near the end of the semester, it’s also important for us to offer a lot of family work, and Duck Pond lends itself to that.
“All the works we commission, and co-commission definitely look broadly to the community as much as it looks to the university community too.”
For more information and details about the coming events at The Arts Center NYUAD, visit nyuad-artscenter.org
For more arts and culture events, visit Yalla Abu Dhabi