An Evening with Alana Barraj

Cabaret Show

Friday, Mar 15 @ 8pm

The Red Theatre

Past Event

See singer Alana Barraj’s showcase of Broadway classics & hits from the animated films you love.

A one of a kind show filled with your favorite songs from Broadway, animated film hits, plus folk and pop legends. The night also includes original works by a star of the Abu Dhabi musical theater world. All rounded off with some of Alana’s infamous banter.

Watch the trailer

Joining Alana Barraj on stage is jazz pianist, Alexandra Ivanova, who blends Balkan, Cuban, and Nordic styles with contemporary jazz while also exploring Maqam scales and polyrhythms of the region. Ivanova made her debut at The Arts Center last year accompanying Alana Barraj in The Blue Hall.

Biographies

The Arts Center’s own and Abu Dhabi long time resident and frequent performer, Alana Barraj is best known for her roles in Abu Dhabi Choral Group’s (ADCG) semi annual productions which have included playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical and Morticia Addams in The Addams Family Musical. She’s performed all over Abu Dhabi at countless schools, hotels, and theaters including the Abu Dhabi Theater and of course The Arts Center. Alana has served as Chairperson and Producer on many of its most successful productions to date and has served as a board member of ADCG since 2011.

Outside of her artist life, Alana Barraj has been working at NYU Abu Dhabi since its administrative inception in 2008, first in New York and now in Abu Dhabi, building several offices from the ground up before joining The Arts Center for its inaugural season in 2015 as its first Senior Producer. She is a proud NYU Steinhardt graduate, having earned her degree in Communication Studies with two sets of honors.

Alexandra Ivanova is a jazz pianist and manager for initiatives contributing to UAE’s cultural and economic development.

Alexandra identifies with several cultures who have enriched her love for the piano: Classically trained in Austria since the age of 8, she discovered her passion for jazz at the age of 16 and studied jazz piano in Austria, at the Regional Conservatory in Dijon, the Conservatoire Erik Satie in Paris, as a music scholar at UK’s University of Warwick Music Center and as NYUAD Arts Centre Fellow at the 2017 Bang-On-A-Can Residency. Most recently, Alexandra has been a student of American-Lebanese jazz pianist and award-winning composer Tarek Yamani.

On the piano, she enjoys blending Balkan, Cuban and Oriental styles with contemporary jazz while also exploring Maqam scales and poly-rhythms of the region. Alexandra regularly performs in the UAE and has previously performed with her multicultural jazz trios in Austria, France, the UK.

When not on the keys, Alexandra is a Master’s graduate of the French Institute for Political Science ‘Sciences Po Paris’ and a polyglot who has studied and worked in the United Kingdom, Lebanon and Jordan. Currently based in Dubai, she is an advocate for the Creative Economy and an active supporter of creatives, entrepreneurs and the local arts scene. In her free time, Alexandra serves as Executive Board Member for POAG’s e7 Daughters of the Emirates community impact programme.

Through her work and music, Alexandra bridges cultures, crosses disciplines and advocates for intercultural understanding.

NYU Community and Students

Are you a member of the NYUAD Community or an NYUAD Student?

NYUAD Community check the Intranet for offers. Before purchasing your tickets you need to create an account on The Arts Center’s website. Check the Intranet (The Arts Center Tickets and Accounts) for details on this.

NYUAD Students check the Student Portal (The Arts Center Tickets and Accounts) for details of booking NYUAD Student tickets.

Need assistance?

Contact The Arts Center’s box office via email for support at nyuad.boxoffice@nyu.edu