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Music serves as a vital sanctuary and a form of spiritual recovery in a world frequently defined by violence, injustice, and fatigue. Flautist, vocalist & composer Naïssam Jalal shares her profound reflections on a career shaped by the search for belonging and the transformative power of sound. Growing up in Paris as the daughter of immigrants, she recounts facing persistent racism and discriminat...

Playwright and director Ahmed El Attar explores the evolution of the Egyptian independent theater movement, tracing its roots from the 1990s counterculture to its role as a precursor for social change. He discusses the crisis of state-run institutions in the Arab world, marked by bureaucracy, censorship, and a disconnect from contemporary audiences. Through his own work, such as "The Discrete Char...

Thomas Attar of Al-Qasar Band joins The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast ahead of their performance at the Tamaas Festival on January 29th. Attar strives to make music that reflects the complexity of modern, multicultural, and transnational identities. Growing up in Paris before moving to the US, he shares the origins of Al-Qasar, a collaborative project that was an intentional response to a "...

In the lead up to her performance at Tamaas Festival on January 29, musician Yasmine Hamdan joins Mikey Muhanna on The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast to discuss her return to music after a significant hiatus. Yasmine, who's considered an icon of music for a generation of Arab listeners, explains that her time away was essential for reconnecting with her purpose, moving beyond career strategy...

The artistic director of "Dear Children, Sincerely," which was performed at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi joins us to talk about this powerful theater collaboration between Rwanda and Sri Lanka. Ruwanthie de Chickera shares the inspiration behind the project, its unique approach to intergenerational dialogue, and the profound impact of connecting with elders who witnessed pivotal historical shi...

In this episode of the NYUAD Arts Center podcast, we're joined by Widad Mjama, one-half of the musical group Aïta Mon Amour, in the lead-up to their performance at the Tamaas Festival in Abu Dhabi. The pioneering rapper from Morocco explores her musical experiences, her early exposure to various music genres in Morocco, and her eventual gravitation towards rap. Widad discusses the Moroccan rap sce...

In this episode of the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center Podcast, we delve into the intrinsic philosophy of dance with dancer and choreographer Omar Rajeh. The conversation spans his journey from founding dance company Maqamat in Beirut in 2002, to developing contemporary dance awareness in Lebanon and organizing the influential BIPOD festival. Omar discusses the transformative power of dance, its societa...

In the lead up to her two-night comedy show performance (in English on January 15 and in Arabic on January 17) of Bint Balad at the NYUAD Arts Center, Maysoon Zayid joins us on The Arts Center's podcast to chat about performing in Abu Dhabi, working with NYUAD, and the importance of creating an accessible future for individuals with disabilities. She provides insight from her multifaceted career a...

Creating intimate worlds through theater, reckoning with Lebanon's state of play, and paying homage to two of her home country's leading actresses: a conversation with theater maker Chrystèle Khodr. Khodr's play Augurs follows actresses Hanane Hajj Ali and Randa Asmar as they retrace their theatrical journeys from the moment they decide to work in theater in the early 1980s. Using her play as a ba...

We’re kicking off the third season of the NYUAD Podcast with Bill Bragin, founding executive artistic director of The Arts Center at New York University Abu Dhabi, and Maya Allison, founding executive director of The Art Galleries and senior research scholar and chief curator at New York University #AbuDhabi. They tell us all about what this year holds at NYUAD’s Arts Center with reflections on th...

The last episode of this season of the NYUAD Arts Center Podcast is with Emel Mathlouthi – who has been called this generation’s Fairuz. We ask her how she feels about this comparison, her rise to fame during the Tunisian revolution, and performing at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. She shares her insight into her “musical universe”, how she approaches song writing — and how songs sometimes write...

In this new episode of the NYUAD Arts Center Podcast, Egyptian musician, composer and producer, Dina El Wedidi takes us through the different eras of her musical career, reflecting on her mentorship and collaboration with Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil, her experience with the Nile Project, and "Slumber/Manam" — what she calls her most meaningful project to date. Dina El Wedidi is an Egyptian singe...

In the lead up to the performance of FRONTERA at NYUAD’s Red Theatre, we talk to Dana Gingras, the choreographer of the show and founder of multimedia dance company Animals of Distinction. Dana talks about her creative process and how she strives to produce shows that are viscerally engaging, experiential and kinetic. She shares how she balances and tweaks her choreography to accommodate different...

This conversation with Asian Dub Foundation’s longest-standing member, Steve Chandra Savale, covers a lot of ground: ranging from the band’s agenda and core values of an educational-based philosophy to East London in the 90s and re-scoring the movie La Haine. Steve shares what it was like emerging out of the post-punk and acid-house era and how the band developed their unique soundscape while hono...

Bill Bragin – executive artistic director of the NYUAD Arts Center – talks to us about the center’s upcoming season, how it's impacted the city of Abu Dhabi so far, and what he envisions for the future of both the center and its ripple effect on the country as a whole.  Bill shares his approach to curatorial work and practice, as well as the importance of responding to a space/venue when programmi...

Dorian Paul Rogers , Salem Al Attas, & Maryam Alshehhi talk about Rooftop Rhythms and how it aims to add life and positive energy in to the UAE community with culturally-appropriate performance arts and nightlife concepts. Rooftop Rhythms was founded in March 2012 by award-winning poet and educator, Dorian Paul Rogers, Ed. D. What started as a poetry open mic night in Abu Dhabi quickly grew into a...

Amir Nizar Zuabi and Samar Haddad King talk about the inception and process behind Yaa Samar!'s dance theatre performance: Last Ward which follows one man’s journey towards death in a hospital room. They also share with us how they met and began collaborating and discuss how far identity extends into their work. This episode is in collaboration with the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. Amir Nizar Zua...

Hervé Koubi spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about What The Day Owes To The Night, which tells the story of a young boy from Yasmina Khadra's novel through highly physical, stunningly fluid, gravity-defying piece that combines capoeira, martial arts, urban, and contemporary dance. Hervé Koubi is a dancer at the National Choreographic Center of Nantes Claude Brumachon an...

Reem Almenhali and Joanna Settle spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about their play, Al Raheel | Departure, which is about the depth and diversity of life as a woman in the UAE. Reem Almenhali is an Emirati performance artist and a playwright. Her body of work includes two performances Deliberately and in Cash and Al Raheel | Departure. Reem received a B.A in theater wit...

Meklit Hadero spoke about her career as a singer, this episode is in collaboration with the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center. Meklit Hadero, known simply as Meklit, is an Ethiopian-born American singer and songwriter based in San Francisco, California. She is known for her soulful performing style, and for combining jazz, folk, and East African influences in her music. She sings in her native Amharic, an...