Abu Dhabi Festival to stream performance by the American Ballet Theatre

The event serves as a preview for the festival’s 2021 programme

American Ballet Theatre will perform a special show for the Abu Dhabi Festival. Admaf

Abu Dhabi Festival is previewing next year’s programme with a special online performance by the American Ballet Theatre.

Streaming on the festival's website from 5pm on December 20, until December 31, the show is named after the festival's theme, The Future is Now.

Co-produced by Abu Dhabi Festival, the ballet comprises a suite of three performances starring the creme de la creme of the company.

Created and shot in “quarantined ballet bubbles”, the event is not so much a showcase of the company’s depth of talent, but an innovative project that could pave the way forward for a dance industry largely halted in the wake of the pandemic.

Ahead of the event, organised by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, festival founder Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo said the annual showcase embodies the UAE's resolve to energise the cultural sector, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic.

“Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation maintained its great ambition to advance culture and offer a platform where we come together as equals to exchange knowledge, while showing respect and appreciation,” she said.

“This vision stems from our belief that culture is not optional but rather is the essence of our human existence.”

The American Ballet Theatre will set the scene for Abu Dhabi Festival's full and largely digital events programme of concerts, exhibitions and films, which begin in February and will be screened on the Abu Dhabi Festival website.

The online programme includes a duet by US jazz master Wynton Marsalis and UK violinist Nicola Benedetti, a concert by Iraqi oud maestro Naseer Shamma and the premiere of a new symphony by Emirati composer Mohammed Fairouz.

The full Abu Dhabi Festival programme is available at abudhabifestival.ae