Stellar cast for ‘1001 Nights: The Last Chapter’ in Sharjah
- 07 Apr 2019
Accomplished artistes and performers from around the world will be descending on Sharjah over the next few days to perfect their acts for the ‘1001 Nights: The Last Chapter,’ the first-of-its-kind in the region production that is set to take place at Al Majaz Amphitheatre from April 23 to 27.
The show will officially crown Sharjah as the Unesco World Book Capital for the year 2019.
The international artistes, who have extensive experience of performing in iconic entertainment shows including Cirque du Soleil Canada and Broadway, are part of a unique alliance of 537 acrobats, innovators, technologists and storytellers representing as many as 25 nationalities.
The artistes, hailing from Mexico, France, UK, Brazil, Belarus, Slovenia, Japan, US and Canada, will wow the audience with a spectacle of 13 performances that blend music, light, and impeccable performances, before they all come together in one amazing frame that will combine artistic perfection of gymnastics, acrobatics, and horse riding, among others, taking the audience on one-of-a-kind journey.
The stellar cast of performers includes Slovenian Silvia Vrskova, who has been part of the dancing teams accompanying Celine Dion and Gloria Estefan, and taking part in international performances such as ‘The Fiddler on the Roof’ and ‘Angels in America’. Vrskova also took part in the 87th Oscars and Tony Awards functions.
French dancer Kyra Jean Green was one of eight choreographers selected to present their works in Copenhagen’s Choreographic Competition in August 2016. She also won the Prix Coup de Coeur du Public at Festival Quartiers Danses in September 2016 and in 2018. She has choreographed performances for Hubbard Street II, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet, Companhia Rudá, and The Dancers’ Space.
After graduating from St Paul Performance Institute in 2007, Alexandre Hill has worked with top choreographers and performed in several countries around the world. He also choreographed many performances for the Fashion & Design Festival in Montreal between 2016-2017, including for some of Professor Adonis Volanakis’ works in the United States.
Also taking part in the ‘1001 Nights: The Last Chapter’ ensemble is Guillaume Michaud. The exceptional talent started dancing at the age of six. He studied at Louise Lapierre Danse, and the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, before taking part in a series of television shows, and at Cirque du Soleil. He also joined Ballets Jazz De Montreal, where he performed on international stages for four years before he signed a contract with MGM for a resident production the in Macao region of China.
From Mexico comes Ricardo Castaneyra, who specialises in circus arts, especially aerial acrobatics, alongside his teammates Olivier Lomio and Didier Stowe, professional trampoline artists. The latter participated in the 2013 ‘Festival De Monte Carlo’ and received a bronze medal and prize of the public as part of the troupe ‘Catwall Acrobats’.
The 21-year-old Japanese aerial silks and straps performer, Mizuki Shinagawa, is also a part of the massive Al Majaz Amphitheatre production. Shinagawa participated in the 40th edition of ‘Mondial du Cirque de Demain’ held in Paris in 2018 and won a bronze medal and two special prizes. Belarusian Yury Paulau mastered acrobatics and was thrice national champion in his country before moving to Canada as an artist with Cirque du Soleil.
The show debuts at 9pm on Tuesday, April 23 and will run once daily at Al Majaz Amphitheatre till Saturday, April 27. The dialogues of the epic production will be available in Arabic, English and French for audiences via headphones.
With April 23 slated as the stage debut date for the first-of-its-kind entertainment production, ‘1001 Nights: The Last Chapter’ in Sharjah, Al Majaz Amphitheatre has announced that massive construction work and technical preparations are under way to create a new chapter in the cultural movement in the UAE and the region.
The show is based on the region’s most popular collection of classic folktales.
The under-construction theatre is one of the biggest in the region – 43 metres wide, 16.4 metres tall, covering a total area of 1,030 square metres.
