Louvre Abu Dhabi launches annualRain of Light Festivalon 11 December

The annual festival, running from 11 – 15 December, will include both free and ticketed concerts, traditional dance and music, street dance battles and street art performances

Abu Dhabi: Louvre Abu Dhabi announced today the programme for its upcoming Rain of Light Festival, a week-long performing arts festival celebrating the museum’s architecture and second cultural season, A World of Exchanges. The festival will include free and ticketed events, running from the 11 - 15 December 2018. A series of performances will showcase intangible heritage and styles from different continents, create artistic encounters between performers and the collection, and provide opportunities for visitors to have new experiences with family and friends across the many social spaces under the dome.

The performing arts festival will include a traditional Khmer dance performance by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, a performance by Etienne Saglio titled The Ghost Project, a reinterpreted dance battle titled Battle of Styles, a concert by Hindi Zahra of her latest albumHomeland, an ancient Egyptian dance from the time of the Pharaohs by Medhat Fawzy Centre titled The Nile Men in the Circle, La Transumante by Johann Le Guillerm that will see 300 wood blocks transform hour upon hour, and held together only by the pressure of the structure’s assembly, as well as Al Ayala performances by Mubarak Al Otaiba group.

“Shortly after our one-year anniversary celebrations, the Rain of Light festival aims to extend the cross-cultural dialogue that Louvre Abu Dhabi promotes within its galleries, by bringing this dialogue to life through a series of performances taking over various spaces under the dome,” said Manuel Rabaté, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi. “As a museum, we do not only celebrate ancient cultures, but also contemporary creativity from around the world and across art forms.”

The festival will start with a performance by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, one of UNESCO’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The Khmer dance tradition is amongst the most refined in the world. The Ballet will be performing a homage to famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin, titled Metamorphosis, an adaptation of the myth of Psyche through the history of Vaddhana Devi by Artistic Director Jean-Hervé Vidal. Rodin met the Royal Ballet of Cambodia for the first time in July 1906, in Paris, during a performance at the Théâtre du Pré Catelan, whose ballerinas inspired his watercolour paintings of dancers. The performance will take place on 11 and 12 December at 8 pm at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium Plaza. Tickets can be purchased on Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website for AED 100 (including VAT); minimum recommended age 8+. A free workshop with the performers will take place on 11 December at 2 pm in the Children’s Museum studio.

Through The Ghost Project performance, Etienne Saglio establishes a link with a translucent shape that comes to life before visitors’ eyes. Minimalist yet spectacular, The Ghost Project plunges the spectator in the heart of a fantastical universe. The free performances will start at 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm on 11 and 12 December and 7:30 pm on 13 December at Louvre Abu Dhabi Park – Concrete Beach.

On 13 December, the Battle of Styles performance will see a mix of cultures where ballet, contemporary and break dance collide together under the museum’s iconic dome. The concept conceived by Carmen Mehnert together with ‘The Saxonz’ group dancers is based on the principle of breakdance battles where different dance styles ‘battle’ each other in one arena. The event, presented by Emirati comedian MC Abdullah Al Qassab and French MC Malik Moujouil, will take place at 8 pm at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium Plaza. Tickets can be purchased on Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website for AED 100 (including VAT). Minimum recommended age 12+.Battle of Styles is organised and toured by PLAN B, the creative agency for performing arts by Carmen Mehnert, Anna Bründl and Anne Schmidt. A free workshop will take place on 12 December in the Auditorium Plaza at 11 am.

Franco-Moroccan artist Hindi Zahra will perform at Louvre Abu Dhabi on 14 December, singing an award-winning mix of contemporary jazz and blues from her latest album Homeland, an ode to her homeland Morocco. The concert will start at 8 pm at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium Plaza and tickets are on sale for AED 100 (including VAT) on Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website; minimum recommended age 12+.

The Medhat Fawzy Centre will be performing The Nile Men in the Circle on 14 and 15 December, a traditional ancient Egyptian dance from the time of the Pharaohs. The show, presenting the whole spectrum of the art of the stick TAHTIB, was created at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris in March 2018. It is choreographed by Dalia El Abd, Director of El Warsha company, Hassan El Geretly, Cairo-based French director Henri Jules Julien, and Marseilles-based Camille Mauplot. The show will start at 6 pm at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium and tickets are available for purchase on Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website for AED 100 (including VAT); minimum recommended age 8+. A free workshop will take place on 15 December in the Auditorium at 11 am.

Also on 14 and 15 December, La Transumante performance will make its way through the museum city. Created by the co-founder of Circus O, brilliant innovator Johann Le Guillerm, La Transumante is a moving wooden creature that will come to life and transform every hour. No nails, no screws, no bolts, no glues, no ropes: pressure alone holds this dynamic piece together. Using three hundred wooden blocks of three meters in length, the conductor Johann Le Guillerm will be assisted by ten handlers and nine local volunteers. The simple pressure of the wooden squares against each other holds the assembled work. It can reach 300 m² on the ground and climb up to four metres high. La Transumante was created for Nuit Blanche 2014 on Place du Panthéon – Paris. The performance is free as part of the museum entry ticket and will take place between 12 and 6 pm under Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Dome and in the Park.

For more information on the Rain of Light Festival, or to buy tickets and register for events, please visit www.louvreabudhabi.ae or call Louvre Abu Dhabi at +971 600 56 55 66.

-Ends-

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Schedule

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Workshops

• Free-ticketed
• Booking available on website and on site until the beginning of the show at the museum’s ticketing desk
• Open to walk-in visitors upon booking free access at the museum’s ticketing desk

Ticketed performances

• Price AED 100 (including VAT)
• 20% discount applicable for Art Club Members, UAE military, visitors aged between 5 to 22 and UAE teachers
• Booking available on website and on site until the beginning of the show at the museum’s ticketing desk

Pop-up events

• Free upon Museum admission ticket presentation (in the Louvre Abu Dhabi venues)
• Free for all visitors – no admission ticket requested (in the Louvre Abu Dhabi Park)

Visitor Information

All children under the age of 13, enter the museum for free.

Entrance to all exhibitions is free as part of the museum ticket.

Louvre Abu Dhabi hours are: Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 10 am–8 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am–10 pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Last entries and ticket purchases end 30 minutes prior to closing. Special visitor hours will be in effect during some holidays and Ramadan.

General admission tickets are AED 60 (excluding 5% VAT). Tickets are AED 30 (excluding 5% VAT) for visitors ages 13-22, UAE education professionals, and members of the military.

Admission is free for members of the museum’s loyalty programme, children under the age of 13, ICOM or ICOMOS members, journalists and visitors with special needs and their companions.

ABOUT LOUVRE ABU DHABI
Created by an exceptional agreement between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France, Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by Jean Nouvel and opened on Saadiyat Island in November 2017. The museum is inspired by traditional Islamic architecture and its monumental dome creates a rain of light effect and a unique social space that brings people together.

Louvre Abu Dhabi celebrates the universal creativity of mankind and invites audiences to see humanity in a new light.  Through its innovative curatorial approach, the museum focuses on building understanding across cultures: through stories of human creativity that transcend civilisations, geographies and times. 

The museum’s growing collection is unparalleled in the region and spans thousands of years of human history, including prehistoric tools, artefacts, religious texts, iconic paintings and contemporary artworks. The permanent collection is supplemented by rotating loans from 13 French partner institutions, regional and international museums.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a testing ground for new ideas in a globalised world and champions new generations of cultural leaders. Its international exhibitions, programming and Children’s Museum are inclusive platforms that connect communities and offer enjoyment for all.

© Press Release 2018