Pop culture in song and dance by students of Dubai’s Diverse Choreography

The three-hour, hashtag-themed variety show opens with a Michael Jackson medley.

Diverse Choreography students in a practise session. Courtesy Diverse Choreography and Performing Arts School in Dubai

More than 400 dancers in Dubai will stage a mix of ballet, hip-hop and contemporary moves as a tribute to some of the world’s greatest musicians and theatre artists.

Titled #SaySomething, the concert kicks off at Madinat Theatre on June 20 and will showcase skills of students of the Diverse Choreography and Performing Arts School in Dubai. The three-hour, hashtag-themed variety show, which opens with a Michael Jackson medley, will have performers between the ages of 6 and 20 salute legendary musicians in the #GoneTooSoon segment.

“We decided to promote the show with hashtags because that is the latest trend with young people,” says Lisa Marshall, Diverse Studio’s performing arts principal. “We have five classes, right from our very young students to the more experienced ones, all paying tribute to pop greats such as Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. This will be the opening number for the show.

“The little ones will be dancing to a Jackson 5 medley and there will be a tapping homage to Ray Charles as well. We also have acts in memory of Patrick Swayze and Glee actor Cory Monteith.”

Then there's the #AndrewLloydWebber segment, which includes melodies from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Starlight Express.

“Webber has been a huge influence in the West End and on Broadway and we thought it was fitting to dedicate a section to him,” says Marshall.

The final section of the show, #ReadAllAboutIt, is a skit highlighting some current news and lifestyle topics through song and dance.

“This will be represented in the form of a morning news report and will have a lot of drama mixed with dance,” says Marshall, who created the show with the help of more than 10 choreographers at the studio. For #ReadAllAboutIt, one of the teachers has created a piece on a family torn apart by war.

Marshall has also choreographed a Hunger Games sequence for the show.

“This is our film-sequence part where the students will be showcasing a modern contemporary routine,” says Marshall.

• #SaySomething at Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, is at 3pm and 7.30pm on June 20 and 21 and at 7.30pm on June 22. Tickets cost Dh120; call 04 330 7338 to book. For more information, visit diversechoreography.com