Dubai: Exquisite performances and artworks by talented children will be showcased for the first time under new initiatives announced by Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children (AJCCC) for 2018.
A total of four different events and festivals in music, pottery, theatre and nutrition, will be organised at the centre between January and February, organisers said on Sunday.
The events, which will involve a number of artists and experts, will also be offering free specialised theatre workshops for children and nutrition sessions for caregivers.
Announcing the details on Sunday, Moza Al Raqbani, deputy operations manager at AJCCC, said for the next two months, the centre will be showcasing the talents and performances of their rising stars, including 22 children they sponsored following a programme held to attract children with exceptional talents.
“The centre has been on a mission to build and develop the skills of children in both visual and performing arts. We are proud of being able to find and sponsor 22 highly talented children living in the UAE,” she said. “Through these events, we want to be able to show what kind of talents we have worked on over the last few weeks and also attract more children to enhance their skill sets.”
A musical concert on January 13 will see the first performance of 11 young musical artistes between the age of seven and 15, including an 8-year old award winning singer of Arabs Got Talent Eman Beasha, said Tala Tutunji, head of the music department at the centre.
“The concert, called Mood, will combine various talented performers, different characters and moods under different musical genres, taking the audience on a mesmerising musical experience” she said. “There will be some theatrical interferences in the middle which will make it a very interactive experience.”
She added that the children will play 11 music compositions, one of which they had created at the centre.
Meanwhile, The “Bidayat” pottery exhibition, to be held on January 27, will display beautiful pottery works of children and adults up to the age of 60, including families who worked together on making their very first sculptures.
“The exhibition, which we named Beginnings, will showcase the first pottery artworks of people made in a variety of techniques,” said Kamal Al Zoubi, head of the clay department at the centre. “The idea was to show how people tried to use clay for the first time and came out with lovely art pieces.”
Introducing the new nutrition department at the centre, Shaikha Al Ahbabi, a nutritionist, said a special event has been designed to educate children and community members on the importance of following a healthy lifestyle. The event, being held on February 3, will also be open to nanny’s to learn concepts of health and nutrition.
“The “Loop” event is being organised at different stations for parents, nannies and children to learn about adopting a healthy lifestyle. The Super Nanny station will teach nannies the basic concepts of hygiene and food safety and how to prepare a healthy nutrition for our children, since they are an important part of society,” she said.
As for theatre, the centre is holding a three-day festival presenting specialised technical workshops for children to develop and promote their skills in theatre.
“We want children to discover the different fields they might be interested in, and so we have organised the ACT festival from February 22-24. The event will mainly involve workshops and diverse theatre plays and also introduce children to theatre,” said Abdullah Al Mqbali, an actor from the centre’s theatre department.
Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children events
Mood Music Concert: January 13 (Open only for special invitees)
“Bidayat” Pottery Exhibition: January 27 (Open to the public)
The Loop: February 3 (Open to the public)
ACT Festival: February 22-24 (Open to the public)
