Some weeks, Cultural Calendar can afford to lounge around, dropping a few casual recommendations in between drawled anecdotes and mouthfuls of baklava. At other times it sounds like a harassed rail announcer on a mainline stopping service, and this is one of those weeks. It is occasionally claimed that scientists have identified the most depressing day of the year or the luckiest birth date or some such nonsense. Cultural Calendar thinks it might just have stumbled on the hardest week to be Cultural Calendar, which is to say, one of the most stimulating weeks to immerse oneself in the arts in the UAE. There is too much happening to do justice, or what passes for justice in this column, to any of it. Good news for you; awkward for me. What can you do?
The Abu Dhabi Festival, which opened last night with a gala celebration of Chopin's bicentennial by Krzysztof Jablonski and the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, continues throughout this week. Its diverting programme includes an exhibition of artworks by Parviz Tanavoli and Adam Henein, two of the Middle East's most significant sculptors. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there's one of the strangest performances to hit these shores, a puppet version of The Sound of Music by the Salzburg Marionette Theatre. And on Thursday there's a performance of La Bohème by the Puccini Festival Opera, dropped nonchalantly in the middle of the Emirates Palace, complete with Ana Maria Martinez as Mimi. Then on Sunday there's more Chopin from the 21-year-old piano virtuoso Nobuyuki Tsujii.
While all this is going on, the Birmingham Stage Company perform a touring production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It's in the Abu Dhabi Theatre today and tomorrow, at Ductac Tuesday and Wednesday, and at the UAE University in Al Ain on Thursday.
This, however, is not the extent of the Abu Dhabi Festival's activities. Check www.abudhabifestival.ae for more details. For now, this train is leaving the station.
Outside the capital, the headline event this week must be the Dubai World Cup. Entertainment will be provided by Elton John and Carlos Santana, each of whom has sold a few records in his time, though probably not very often to the same people. Still, if you like your horses fast, your jams Latin and your ballads flaming, there is only one place to be on Saturday.
What, though, if you like your rock heavy and vaguely paleolithic? What if you want Lord of the Rings-inspired songs called things such as Tears of the Wizard? Then on Thursday, Monsters of Rock, headlined by the long-running Indian band Parikrama, is the concert for you.
Alternatively, the Shelter in Al Quoz is hosting an evening of live hip-hop, rap battles and graffiti led by the Dubai-based MC Jibberish. The event is billed as a benefit for Haitian earthquake victims but might equally be interpreted as a hearts-and-minds drive for Dubai's hip-hop community, which has been bubbling away in comparative obscurity for a while now. At a minimum, any claims to "run this town" should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Finally, there's a new show by the fine Iranian artist Sara Rahbar at Carbon 12. Whatever We Had to Lose We Lost and In a Moonless Sky We Marched appears to resume the artist's interests in satirically Persianised versions of the American flag and in photographic studies of ceremonial dress. Worth a visit.
Abu Dhabi Festival: Until April 8, Emirates Palace and other venues, Abu Dhabi. Visit www.abudhabifestival.ae.
Carlos Santana and Elton John: Saturday, Dubai World Cup at Meydan, Dubai.
Monsters of Rock: Thursday, Dubai Majestic Hotel, Dubai.
Hip-hop for Haiti: Thursday, the Shelter, Al Quoz, Dubai.
Sara Rahbar: Thursday, Carbon 12, Al Quoz, Dubai.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
More coverage from the Future Forum
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
