Shadowland will come to the capital this weekend as part of summer season in Abu Dhabi, complete with a narrative tweaked to include the city's landscape and traditions. Created by the American dance company Pilobolus, the 90- minute shadow-play stage production has been watched by thousands of people around the world. It began touring in 2009, after creating more than 100 elaborate narratives for companies and theatres.
What is Pilobolus?
The name has a ring to it, but the meaning is even more intriguing. The American dance company, formed in 1971, is named after – wait for it – a class of fungi that is found in herbivore dung. Yes, really. The company’s founding member Jonathan Wolken apparently was impressed by how strongly and quickly the fungus grew and felt it represented what they were trying to build.
The company follows an unconventional creative process – what the executive producer Itamar Kubovy calls “radical democracy”: a group of artists come together to sound out ideas and collectively create a narrative for a production.
“The creative process, be it in technology, business or art, functions the same way,” says Kubovy. “You have a problem to solve and you think broadly about the different ways to do that.
“When you bring a diverse group of people with different backgrounds into a room, you get a diverse perspective. You then try to select the ideas that you think are best. That is done by the entire group and is led by the directors – who become the editors to the process.”
This, he says, creates the kind of production that an audience can thoroughly enjoy.
At the Oscars
In 2007, Pilobolus wowed Hollywood at the Oscars with its shadow play. The 12-member dance troupe twisted their athletic bodies to create shadows representing that year's Academy Award-nominated films. They began with the golden statuette, and went on to penguins (Happy Feet), a bus (Little Miss Sunshine) and a stiletto (The Devil Wears Prada).
Behind the Scenes
What the audience sees on an enormous white translucent screen are neat, crisp silhouettes of everything from landmarks to animals, but little do they know that behind the scene "controlled chaos" unfolds. When the troupe performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the celebrity's staff went backstage to see how these shadows are created, only to find the dancers busy researching images and videos of Winfrey's dog, Sophie, whom they later recreated on the screen.
Wolken explains: "We try to use mostly body parts. Whenever we need to, we use aids. Nobody really knows what's happening back there." Body movements are set to a script by Steven Banks, the head writer of the popular cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants, while the music is by the composer David Poe.
Shadowland in Abu Dhabi
A dozen dancers will play out the coming-of-age story of a girl who travels the world. She is chased around by a motley trio, meets a cowboy, camel and elephant, and gets to visit famous destinations. The Abu Dhabi shows will feature the emirate’s traditions and sights, including a tea ceremony and the F1 racecourse on Yas Island. The troupe has prepared a special finale for the audience in the capital.
• Shadowland is at Adnec from Friday to August 16. Tickets cost from Dh199 and are available at www.alchemy-project.com
aahmed@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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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7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
On sale: now
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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