Tolerance and human connection are at the heart of NYUAD’s new performing arts season that aims to bring the Abu Dhabi community together

If you haven’t been to any of the events hosted as part of New York University Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) performing arts season, you may not understand what all the hype is about. Over 35,000 fans attended performances last year, and now The Arts Center is about to kick off its third season from September to April.

“I think it’s on everybody’s minds everywhere in the world that we’re living in times of great conflict, and there’s a big push to create a greater spirit of empathy and human connection as a way to bring greater tolerance and understanding,” says artistic director Bill Bragin.

“I think that one of the things that’s very important to us is the idea that arts don’t exist in isolation, they become a lens into larger civic conversation and that’s a conversation that the UAE is having very deeply right now.”

Dance revolution

Kicking off the season on 7th September is a dance troupe from Compagnie Käfig performing Pixel, a dazzling performance using cutting-edge digital productions that blurs the line between reality and reveries.

“In this work I tried a new connection using technology with and for dance,” choreographer Mourad Merzouki tells us. “I wanted to open up the way where the synthetic world of digital projection would interact with the dancer’s reality.”

Season highlights

Pixel: Combines interactive media and video with hip-hop dance. 7th-8th Sep.

Toshi ReAgon: Acclaimed singer for an outdoor concert on 2nd November.

600 Highway Men – The Fever: This interactive performance fully relies on audience participation. 24th-26th and 28th Nov.

#Jesuis: Aakash Odedra created this show with Turkish dancers exploring life in conflict. 7th-9th Feb.

For a schedule and ticket information, visit: nyuad-artscenter.org