The Dubai-based contemporary dance company will premiere Rhyme, drawing on Arabic poetry, music, and calligraphy, and contemporary dance
Abu Dhabi-: The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) will welcome audiences into The Red Theater for the premiere of Rhyme by Dubai-based Sima Dance Company on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20 at 8pm.
Commissioned by The Arts Center, Rhyme expands on a piece originally created for Expo 2020 Dubai, adding live music and Arabic poetry, new costuming and refined choreographic elements. The presentation of this work builds on the sold-out world premiere of Ansaf commissioned by The Arts Center two years ago, and furthers the season’s theme, Now and into the Future by investing in and supporting UAE based choreographers and dancers as part of the development of dance in the country.
Rhyme invites the awareness of Arabic heritage and culture through an artistic lens, drawing from Arabic poetry, oriental music, and contemporary dance. Staged through an exchange of narration, where bodies and music are the main reflection of Arabic poetry, the piece uses the universal language of music and movement to break linguistic barriers. The beauty of the intrinsic rhythm, rhyme, letters, and music of the poetry showcases the concept of the performance, which utilizes the visual nature of the theater as a poetic page. Vocalists Mostafa Aldelrady aka Zigzag and Lama, who is also a participant in The Arts Center’s Numoo artist development platform, will also feature in the show.
Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Center at NYUAD Bill Bragin said: “Sima Dance Company has gathered and trained some of the finest dancers in the UAE, who have had extensive experience performing at major events like Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE National Day, and other celebrations. They have also become important partners when we bring visiting choreographers from abroad who can share their own technique and expand the skills of UAE dancers. We’re thrilled to be able to give them a home in The Arts Center, the finest venue for dance in the country, to expand their artistic vision. Our collaboration has allowed us to invest in cultivating world class talent in our own backyard, and helped them create work that we hope will be able to tour internationally, representing the UAE abroad.”
Sima Dance Company was founded in Damascus, Syria in 2003 by choreographer Alaa Krimed. Early productions were performed in Damascus Opera House, Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, and various theaters in the region. In 2012, the company moved to Beirut where its studio focused on promoting Arab contemporary dance in Lebanon. The company won Arabs Got Talent in 2014, before relocating to Dubai in 2015, opening Sima Performing Arts in Alserkal Avenue in 2017. Since then, it has collaborated with the main cultural institutions of the UAE, while its dancers have trained professionally worldwide, allowing the company to benefit from various approaches to creative expression while creating its own unique artistic voice.
Rhyme is the second premiere by Sima Dance Company commissioned by The Arts Center. The first was Ansaf, Alaa Krimed’s first concert dance piece in nearly a dozen years, back in 2019.
Ticket information for Rhyme is available at www.nyuad-artscenter.org.