Dubai Parks and Resorts auditions see good turn-out

Jason Ramsburg, director of live entertainment for Dubai Parks and Resorts, trains aspirants for a dance show. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

A circus artist performs for the judges. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Chris Clark, Show Director, Motiongate, and Abhishek Maver, Director of Entertainment Bollywood. Mona Al Marzooqi/ The National

About 20 people stretched, pirouetted and practised figure 8s while waiting for their moment in the spotlight at the James & Alex Dance Studios in Dubai Media City last weekend.
Some were visibly nervous, others engaged in muted conversation, trying to gauge the quality of the competition. All, how­ever, seemed excited at the possibility that their audition might earn them the chance to work with the UAE's biggest theme-park destination.
When the gates open in October, Dubai Parks and Resorts - a massive theme-park complex with a Bollywood-themed section, a MotionGate zone featuring rides based on Hollywood movies, and a Legoland attraction - will stage several daily song-and-dance shows and offer visitors photo ­ops with their favourite movie and animation characters.
Already on the cards are a Step Up-inspired performance, a colourful Bollywood show, and encounters with characters from The Smurfs, The Lego Movie and Shrek.
That was where the performers who had gathered at Media City came in. The auditions, held at the end of February, were the culmination of a six-month talent search across seven countries - India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and the UAE - to find 400 artists to work across the theme park.
"People from Australia and the UK had the most theatrical experience, while we saw amazing dance talent from those from Middle Eastern countries, especially hip-hop artists from Casablanca," says Jason Ramsburg, the director of live entertainment at Dubai Parks and Resorts and former creative director for entertainment at Universal Studios Singapore.
In the course of two days, the Dubai auditions attracted about 200 hopefuls - a mix of Indian, Filipino and western expats - who took to the stage with the dream of becoming part of a project set to put the UAE firmly on the global entertainment map.
"I was unbelievably surprised at the quantity and quality of the performers we saw in Dubai," says Ramsburg. "I didn't expect that we would have such a stellar dancer turnout. We saw nearly as many people here as we did in the Melbourne, Sydney and London audition stops - and they were world-class talent.
"We also had a Dubai-based mentalist who came and blew our minds with some up-close magic. He performed tricks that I have not seen before," he says.
A dance enthusiast and advertising professional from Abu Dhabi, who gave her name as Hannah Schmitz, says that despite having a full-time job she would love to be part of the Dubai Parks group because "it's an international-­standards company, which has a universal appeal as well as the potential to open doors for truly talented people".
Rashmi Vijayan, a 28-year-old from Dubai, says: "The combination of a Broadway-style show with Bollywood songs, which I've grown up with, sounds amazing."
The freelance voice-over artist was impressed by the set-up.
"I also liked how professional they were - that they gave us a lot of chances to get the moves right in the dance sequence and then expected us to create magic," she says. "This is the real deal, and I hope to make the cut and work with such a creative and exacting team of artists."
Prince, a Filipino, showed off his circus and dance skills.
"The studio floor was a bit slippery, but I think I impressed the judges, who had made it clear that the more diverse our talents, the more likely we are to be hired," he says. "We've been told it's a 13-month contract to start with."
Celebrity lookalikes and character mascots are a big draw at theme parks, too, and the Bollywood and MotionGate arenas will have plenty of those.
"We had several actors audition for roles from the movies, such as Hiccup and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, as well as those who auditioned as the characters from the Ghostbusters films," says Ramsburg.
Next comes the shortlisting process, and those who make the cut will take the stage again, in batches of 75. The successful 400 recruits will then be announced.
"We are looking to hire people who can, ideally, sing, dance, act and improvise, because they will be moved among the three parks and among the various shows we put up," says Ramsburg.
"We are also measuring all candidates to see how they would fit into specific mascot costumes. Speciality artists, such as circus acts, puppeteers and trampo­linists are an added advantage."
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