Abu Dhabi, July 27th, 2010 (WAM) -- The "WOMAD" Festival, which concluded on Sunday in the "Charlton Park" in the United Kingdom, hosted the first overseas shows of "UAE Takhet" and "Abu Dhabi for Traditional and Performing Arts", of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), amid high interaction of tens of thousands of festival audiences from different cultures, who attended the show that seeks to give local UAE folklore a global presence, through the revival of the musical and artistic heritage of the UAE.
Abdullah Al Ameri, Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at ADACH said: "The participation of the two groups in the biggest and most important art festival worldwide - WOMAD - comes to stress the pursuit of the Authority to execute its strategic plan to preserve local heritage and to introduce it to the whole globe, not just the Arab World, especially since the Festival is a space where many of the groups which are most prominent in their diversity of cultures and heritage in music, meet.""The aim was also to help pass on this heritage to future generations, and the Festival has succeeded in bringing together the different cultures of the world in the arts, music and dance, and provided breathtaking collection of musical and visual art shows," he added. "The WOMAD Festival in Britain, which attracts voices from different cultures across the globe, and introduces generations of peoples to rich cultural music heritage of North Africa and its desert, India, Pakistan, the Americas, the Far East and other cities of the world, witnessed the first chance to include traditional UAE music via new pieces played by the 'UAE Takhet' group that amazed and surprised the audience, in a cultural and spiritual tune that stresses that music is a universal language, and is able to bring together cultures and peoples in one evening and one place," said Ameri. The "Abu Dhabi for Traditional and Performing Arts" were able to add to the traditional music performances and movements and the cultural diversity in the festival, following their outstanding performance and distinctive first participation, which contributed to show the attractive and the new forms of UAE art. The participation, Ameri noted, presented UAE traditional and popular art to the world in a pretty and loved style, in addition to presenting songs pertaining to other countries, which were received with high public interaction and applause and admiration from tens of thousands with the UAE performances. Nasser Al Junaibi, Director of Performing Arts in ADACH and Head of "Abu Dhabi for Traditional and Performing Arts", said the group which includes 40 artists were able to successfully make their first show abroad through performances and music which are part of UAE popular folklore. The "Abu Dhabi for Traditional and Performing Arts" worked to explore the rich local heritage rich while maintaining the simple substance of the musical heritage, through exceptional performances that cater for multi-tastes, presented by the members to an audience captivated by new Emirati music and performance that aim to introduce the culture, art and heritage of the UAE.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
