Dubai: The Global Village is providing a platform for amateur artistes in the UAE to showcase their talent.
Aptly called the Talent Stage, the new platform has helped unearth hidden talent in the UAE with some getting a chance to perform in public for the first time. Here we bring you five artistes who impressed us.
N.C. Vijayalakshmi, 71, Indian
Singer N.C. Vijayalakshmi recall-ed being nervous before she took to the stage on December 25 – it was her first performance in the UAE. But once she began, she held the audience spell-bound with her rendition of a classic Hindi song – Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi – from the 1995 film Aandhi.
“I was initially a bit nervous. But the audience was so encouraging and it motivated me to keep going. It was a thrilling experience and I hope I get more opportunities to perform in public,” said Vijayalakshmi, who comes from a musical family.
Mark Glover, 37, British
Mark Glover, a music teacher at English College Dubai, enthralled the audience with three pieces on January 17. He played You’re Welcome from the film Moana, Steven Bryant’s Hummingbird and Puccini’s Nessun Dorma.
The audience was particularly curious about the unusual instrument he played – the euphonium – and the rather unique sound it produced.
“It was a very enriching experience. I was not used to performing with a backing track – but all went well that evening. A lot of people walked up to me after my performance enquiring about the euphonium,” said Glover.
“It is great having a dedicated stage at a public arena like the Global Village. There are so many talented people in the UAE who need a platform to showcase their talent.”
Dance with the mums
Seventeen Indian mothers, with no formal training in dancing, performed a 25-minute Bollywood fusion dance on December 30. This was the first ever public performance of their lives. Hari Haran, former winner of popular Indian dance show, Boogie Woogie, who choreographed their performance, said: “I was keen to do a group performance with people who had never appeared on stage before. After all that is what this platform is all about – offering a stage where people can showcase their inherent talent.
A bunch of enthusiastic mothers who drop their children at my institute said they would give it a go and train for their first ever performance. They worked hard and trained for a month before the show. Every day they would come to my institute and train for at least six hours.”
Needless to say they did a fabulous job and gave a riveting show which was a mash-up of Sanjay Leela Bansali songs.
Aarna Jain, 4, Indian
Youngest performer on the Talent Stage till date, Aarna Jain captured the hearts of the audience with her superb rendition of Count On You by Bruno Mars and How Far I’ll Go from Moana on November 25. She was flawless.
“Aarna is a very gifted child,” said her music trainer, Jonathan. “She has never given a public performance before but she left the audience spellbound. The Talent Stage has given the super-talented child a chance to showcase her singing prowess.”
Nathan, 18, Indian
The stage also proved a perfect platform for 18-year-old Nathan with cerebral palsy to show his creative abilities. A student with Manzil Centre for Special Needs in Dubai, he enthralled Global Village visitors on December 10 with his version of Sunday Morning and Paper Roses. He also did a dance. It was his first ever solo performance on a public stage yet he pulled it off brilliantly.
“The audience was very supportive and gave him a huge applause which was very encouraging,” said Noorie of the special needs centre.
Aspiring artistes wishing to perform here can either send a demo video to the GV entertainment team or show their act at the venue before being allowed to go on stage. The shows take place daily during Village opening hours.
