Closing Night: THANK YOU!

A great big 'thank you' to everyone who came to see FREEJ FOLKLORE in Dubai. It was a wonderful 10 days. We'll still be posting updates over the next week or so - probably with some 'interesting' behind the scenes bloopers :)

Friday night at Freej Folklore

Thursday night audience

Freej Folklore views on Tuesday

More Freej Folklore views

Audience opinions after the show

Day Four - here's what some of the audience thought of the show. Blogging live from Madinat Jumeirah Arena :)

First Views and Reviews

ArabEastern.com posted this great story about Freej Folklore, while The Kipp Report did a nice piece, too: "Remember Ali Baba, Sindbad and Aladdin and all those Arabian stories you heard as a child? Well, the show brings them all to life."

There are rave reviews in Emirates Business 24x7, "In a spectacular display of 3D special effects, combined with live-action and animation, audiences sat enraptured as they set sail with Sindbad on his voyage of discovery; followed in the footsteps of Arabian explorer Ibn Battuta; and wished upon a star with Aladdin and his genie."

And Abu Dhabi's The National called Folklore: "a pyrotechnic explosion of dance, light and sound."

But it's the reviews from people that have seen the show that have been really great to see. Blogger Aga in the UAE said: "the show was really fantastic. Music, dance, animation, acrobatics, special effects - all combined to create a really great theatrical experience."

We're glad you enjoyed it!!!

Gulf News Video

From Gulf News video: Mohammed and Ben talk about the Folklore production, the show and preparations!

Folklore Fever in Dubai

Opening night was a stunner. Yesterday running three consecutive shows was potentially a challenge, but everything went so smoothly, audiences were wowed and the result is raving reviews in today's UAE media and the blogosphere. His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, attended the English language shows yesterday at 7:00pm. It was such an honour to have His Highness as a guest!

And also a huge thanks to Al Khaleej newspaper for their review today. If you read Arabic, you can check it out here.

The Folklore Show

Some 'sneak preview' pictures of the show!

Live on UAE radio behind the scenes tonight

DJ Moe from Channel 4FM is setting up on site at the Madinat Arena. He'll be going live behind the scenes tonight for an exclusive sneak peak before opening night. From 7pm-10pm, the Evening Show with DJ Moe on 104.8FM will take UAE radio listeners into the world of FREEJ FOLKLORE!

Rehearsals

Rehearsals for Freej Folklore are progressing apace, with hundreds of performers including dancers and choreographers, animation specialists, sound and lighting engineers, producers and other technical team members all working together as the largest theatrical production ever in the Middle East gears up for its run at Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah Arena from the 8th-17th January 2009.

Freej Folklore, DSF 2009, Dubai Arts& Culture Authority: Ticket Offer!

Only until opening night, Thursday 8th January 2009, for every ticket, another one of equal value will be given. Why? Just because. Tickets in all Virgin Megastore outlets in UAE. The curtain will rise soon, ladies & gentlemen. And the rehearsals continue... (tech team slowly panicking...)

All cast in Dubai - rehearsals in full swing!

The entire cast and crew is in Dubai, we're rehearsing day and night. The dancers are still figuring out how to get in and out of their massive costumes! Tensions are running high - but we're all really excited and counting down till opening night. We move into the Madinat Arena tomorrow - but until then we've got this great gym space to work with.

This bearded Frenchman is Benjamin Monie from JBM - the co-producers of FREEJ FOLKLORE.