Dubomedy International Performing Arts Festival brought four days of non-stop local art

DIPAF closes big with medley of music acts and Behold The Locus
By Sabina Giado
15th November
Dubai, UAE

Dubai: The first ever Dubai International Performing Arts Festival drew to a close last night with Behold The Locus headlining an open-air concert at Dubai Festival City’s Floating Stage.

Taking advantage of the recent dip in temperatures, families and weekend shoppers gathered to enjoy some free music and live demonstrations of Latin and ballroom dance from the Arthur Murray Dance Center. The genres represented by the local bands were as diverse as progressive rock (Pull Box), acoustic (Sach Holden) and hip hop (Ya’Koob Al Rafaie from Kuwait and local artist Beatbox Ray).

Earlier in the day, Dubomedy and SAE Institute hosted a fruitful panel discussion with Hamdan al Abri from soul band Abri and his manager Rebecca Brianceau. Attended by amateur and professional musicians, Abri with manager led a spirited discussion on the nature of marketing and distributing independent musicians in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Student shows kicked off DIPAF this year on Wednesday November 9, with the Tap Dance and Body Percussion, Comedy 101 and Advanced Improvisation students exhibiting their skills at the customary student showcase, the Mixed Tape.

November 10 was Theatre Night at the Dubai Community Theater and Arts Center (DUCTAC). The audience listened in reverent silence, occasionally laughing and reacting, as the From the Page to the Stage students presented their monologues and spoken word pieces. The writing workshop presentation commenced with a reading by renown USA poet and published writer, Nicholas Karavatos. This atmosphere of support and encouragement continued as local theatre groups took to the stage, some for the first time as in the case of Jamal Iqbal’s ensemble piece “Musecal Chairs”. Youth Theatre Works produced a peppy comedic musical act while Rajendra Aneja shed light on the less fortunate with his one-man play about the life of a construction worker “My Little Bit Life”.

Friday, November 12, was a day of learning and laughing at DIPAF. At the SAE Institute, Sol Abiad of experimental theatre group Star Too led workshop participants in an exploration of space and movement, culminating in a presentation of the theme Where is Home. Pioneering Pakistani stand-up comedian and improviser Saad Haroon led an intensive workshop on improvisation introducing participants to the “game” of improv and the “Yes and” rules, among many other rules of fruitful improvisation.

That evening, Dubomedy brought out the big comedy guns at The Big Comedy Show at Reel Cinemas. Mina Liccione, artistic director of VIVA Arts, DIPAF art director and founder and head teacher of Dubomedy Arts School, took to the stage to perform stand-up along with her co-founder, VIVA Arts CEO and local comedian Ali Al Sayed. Pakistani comedian and Dubomedy Arts School graduate Salman Qureshi opened the show while Rohit Jayakaran, a familiar voice from City 101.6 hosted. Saad Haroon had the audience in splits with his comedic songs and improvised humour.

When asked to give her impressions on the festival, Liccione said, “This festival was really a celebration for all local artists and I believe it really achieved that goal in terms of promoting their work and educating and opening doors for new artists to join the community,” Al Sayed, cofounder of Dubomedy Arts, added, “We’re really excited about the response of the community to the Performing Arts Festival. I truly believe that art of all kinds is set to explode in this region and I hope that the Dubomedy Arts will be in the vanguard providing training for a new generation of local artists.”