We were lucky enough to speak to Maxim Beloserkovsky (page 7), principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater, this week ahead of his performance at Emirates Palace on 1st April. He summed up our sentiments about the Abu Dhabi Festival perfectly when he said: ‘a great nation deserves great art”.

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves, and as the Abu Dhabi Festival gets into full swing this week we definitely want to take our hats off to the organisers. This year sees one of the largest festivals yet, with a diverse range of performances for every budget, every taste and every age group delighting audiences until 4th April.

We popped in to see Macbeth at the Abu Dhabi Theater last week, which we found hugely entertaining. We loved everything from the canon fire to the soldiers in modern battle gear dropping from the ceiling.

With actors performing from the aisles throughout the show, we think it was the best AED 50 we’ve spent – maybe ever!
Slightly more expensive, but sure to be no less enjoyable was the Russel Maliphant Company’s performance of PUSH at Emirates Palace. Featuring Sylvie Guillem, the acclaimed French doyenne of dance, the show promised to be a night to remember – at the time of going to press we were certainly looking forward to it!

This week sees the Emirate’s brightest young artists come together for a performance on stage with the very talented UK cellist Matthew Barley at Emirates Palace on Saturday. Read all about what the audience can expect in our interview with the star (page 7).

Want to know what’s happening this week? Make sure you check out our events diary!

Megan Wynes