The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) presents What The Day Owes To The Night (Ce Que Le Jour Doit A La Nuit) on Wednesday and Thursday, October 26-27 at 7:30pm in The Red Theater. The UAE premiere will be presented with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
What The Day Owes To The Night features a highly physical, stunningly fluid, gravity-defying piece that combines capoeira, martial arts, urban, and contemporary dance with powerful imagery evocative of orientalist paintings and the stone filigree of Islamic architecture. Through its mystical, enchanting, and hypnotic choreography, choreographer Hervé Koubi retraces his own history by relating it to the story of a young boy from a novel by Yasmina Khadra.
Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Center at NYUAD Bill Bragin said:
Hervé Koubi is a key figure in a circle of leading French choreographers.His work pushes the boundaries of contemporary and urban dance, and explores meaningful themes, in this case of family history, migration and identity, with the highest level of artistry. It is thrilling to present this show after more than two and a half years of planning and re-planning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And it’s even more thrilling that the popular response has been so strong that we added a second public show. We are certain the performances will leave a powerful mark on our audiences.
On Monday, October 24 at 6:30pm, The Arts Center also hosts an Urban & Contemporary Dance Workshop, presented with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. Guillaume Gabriel, co-founder of Compagnie Hervé Koubi, leads participants through some of the fundamental principles of urban and contemporary dance, together with an excerpt from Koubi’s own world-renowned choreographic work.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Director of Dance and Culture Program Serge Laurent added:
It is a great honor for Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels to continue the collaboration with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi by presenting Ce Que Le Jour Doit À La Nuit. With twelve virtuoso dancers, the choreographer Hervé Koubi offers a vibrant choreography, a bridge between East and West, between France and Algeria. A pure moment of grace!
What The Day Owes To The Night navigates a diasporic identity that shifts between Arab and European orientations, reflecting Koubi’s Algerian heritage, as well as his upbringing in France. In line with the season’s theme, Stories, the piece draws from Koubi’s own story of self-discovery and family history, as he traveled as an adult to discover his Algerian roots more deeply.
The Arts Center has a long commitment to contemporary dance and has seen a tremendous response to work by artists of the Arab diaspora, such as Badke, Compagnie Käafig, and Mourad Merzouki and Kader Attou, as well as the forthcoming residency by Yaa Samar Dance Theatre.
Hervé Koubi biography
Of Algerian roots, Hervé Koubi grew up in France where he studied biology and dance at the University of Aix-en-Provence before graduating as a Pharmaceutical Doctor in 2002. After deciding to concentrate on a dancing career and graduating from the Rosella Hightower School of Dance in Cannes, Koubi gained professional experience as a dancer before creating his first project entitled Le Golem. Since 2010, he has been working with a group of 12 to 14 all male street dancers from North Africa on several works including What the Day Owes to The Night, The Barbarian Nights or The First Dawns of the World, Boys Don’t Cry, and ODYSSEY.
More recently, he has been Associate Choreographer at the Pole National Supérieur de Danse in France and was the French medal of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in July 2015. His company is based mainly in Calais, in Northern France.
About The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
http://www.nyuad-artscenter.org
Presenting music, theater, dance, film and interdisciplinary performances that defy definition, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi is a performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions. The Arts Center draws on the resources of NYUAD to create a dynamic space for research, investigation, and the active pursuit of knowledge and wisdom for audiences as well as visiting artists.
About Van Cleef & Arpels
Founded at Paris’ 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels came into being following Estelle Arpels’ marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895. Over the decades, the excellence and creativity of the High Jewelry Maison established its reputation across the world. With a blend of inventiveness and poetry, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates a highly distinctive style that has produced numerous signatures: the Mystery Set technique, the Minaudière, the transformable Zip necklace and the Alhambra motif.
Its selection of Pierres de Caractère, exceptional gems that instill an emotion, and the savoir-faire of its Mains d’Or, the virtuoso craftsmen of the workshops, have given birth to enchanting jewelry and watchmaking collections. Whether inspired by nature, couture, dance or imaginary worlds, the Maison opens the gate to a timeless universe of beauty and harmony. It currently operates over 135 boutiques globally, including 14 locations in the Middle East region.
About NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective program with majors in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities with a world center for advanced research. Its campus enables students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world, and to advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges.
NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from some 120 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU’s campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.
