Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi offers lineup of activities for its Spring Season

Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi offers lineup of activities for its Spring Season

ABU DHABI, 24th February, 2022 – The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has announced a diverse line-up for its Season 7 spring schedule, with commissioned works, UAE premieres, and returning fan favorites.

Furthering the season’s theme ‘Now and into the Future’, which echoes the UAE’s recent 50th Anniversary Jubilee and the future orientation of Expo 2020 Dubai, the lineup of music, theater, dance, film, poetry, and interdisciplinary performances spotlights The Arts Centre’s continued investment in the UAE’s performing arts and creative economy.

Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi, said, “During the past two years, The Arts Centre has remained incredibly active, presenting an ongoing array of innovative programmes and investing in artists through our commissioning and professional development programmes.

From locally commissioned dance performances to multiple performances which blur the boundaries between live performance and cinema, the spring lineup demonstrates the results of this investment in innovation within tradition.

“We are especially delighted that these shows will be in-person for the first time in two years.

We learned a lot from the unavoidable transition to online formats, going way beyond what we would previously have thought possible to make meaningful connections between performers and the audience.

We will build on that experience to continue to explore innovative ways to showcase eclectic global talent and support the local arts scene.

For its return to in-person performances at The Arts Centre itself, an immersive live documentary and profound sensory experience by Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Sam Green, 32 Sounds is the first of several performances which reinvent the boundaries between live performance and film.

Sima Dance Company, from Dubai, will premiere Rhyme in The Red Theater on 19th and 20th March.

The commissioned full-length work, which expands on a piece created for Expo 2020 Dubai, builds on the sold-out world premiere of Ansaf two years ago.

Rooftop Rhythms, the Middle East’s longest-running open mic night, continues their open mic and slam poetry nights in-person at NYUAD’s The Marketplace on Fridays 25th March and 20th May.

The roots rockers The Mary McBride Band, who were the first artist to perform at The Arts Centre in its pilot season in February 2015, make their long-awaited return to the UAE with support by the US Mission to the UAE and the US Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The Red Theater hosts The Storyville Mosquito on 12th and 13th May, by returning artist Kid Koala.

Co-commissioned by The Arts Centre, The Storyville Mosquito is a live animated graphic novel that is performed, filmed, and scored in real time, featuring puppet theater, turntablism, a string trio, and live, real-time filmmaking.