The Dubai Opera House

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In Dance in the Gulf 10 June 2016 I noted that "a lot of money is going into the arts as states in the Gulf seek to diversify their economies and that has resulted in the construction of new auditoriums for the performing arts. " I mentioned the Royal Opera House in Muscat which has already hosted the English National Ballet and is about to stage performances by the Eifman Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

Next door to Oman is the United Arab Emirates. The capital of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi, already has an annual arts festival which included a performance by Carlos Acosta at the Emirates Palace auditorium on 25 April 2016. In 2008 and 2009 the Bolshoi Ballet performed Swan Lake and Giselle in Abu Dhabi.

The other metropolis of the UAE is Dubai which is just about to open a new opera house in an area to be known as "the opera district".   Two ballet companies will perform in its first season: The Russian State Ballet and Orchestra of Siberia which will dance Coppelia on the 15 and 17 Sept 2016 and Giselle on the 16 and
Béjart Ballet which will dance Ballet for Life on 21 Oct 2016 and a gala that includes Seven Greek Dances, Piaf and Bolero on the 22.

Further up the Gulf, Bahrain has a National Theatre which staged the Eifman Ballet's Anna Karenina and Giselle with Anna Nikulina in the title role last year. Qatar has an opera house which has hosted a number of dance companies. Kuwait is constructing an opera house which should open soon.