By the end of this week, almost 90 Dubai and Abu Dhabi kids and teenagers will have completed the UAE's first summer band camp.
Thankfully, with temperatures outside approaching melting point, the musical holiday park in question has been indoors, namely at the First Group Theatre at Madinat Jumeirah. Following on the heavily worn heels of High School Musical and Fame, Disney's Camp Rock: The Musical closes this Saturday after a week of performances that have given some of the UAE's young starlets an opportunity to shine on stage.
And shine they most certainly did, at a performance on Tuesday night. And whoop and clap and sing and dance.
Based on Disney's Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, this screen-to- stage adaptation is an impressive show. And it's not purely for the performances, but for the fact that - aside from four members - almost the entire cast is made up locally based children and teenagers, and comes after just two weeks of rehearsals following auditions in May. The story is typical Disney fodder: children return to the Camp Rock holiday park for a summer of music and friendship. Much singing and dancing. Camp Star, the flashy rival music park on the other side of the lake, opens. Much singing and dancing.
Camp Star's ruthless owner Axel Turner entices Camp Rock staff over with promises of better salaries and air-conditioned cabins (an understandable deal-breaker). Much singing and dancing.
Camp Rock's charismatic head girl Mitchie decides that the only way to beat Camp Star is via a musical showdown (if only this could be the case for every dispute). A great deal of singing and dancing.
Running alongside the main plotline are splashes of innocent teenage romance, some all-out silliness, and even a few performances by the fictitious global supergroup Connect 3 (played by The Jonas Brothers in the film version).
Mitchie (played by Jo Shah) and the lead boy Shane (Liam Doyle) are the Vanessa Hudgens/Zac Efron-esque couple and are among the few to have flown over from the UK (Liam actually won a UK television contest to play Efron's role in a performance of High School Musical).
And while these two do much of the solo singing, the other main cast members are equally stand-out. Arguably the best performance comes from 16-year-old Rosie Napper, who plays the spoiled, self-absorbed singer Tess Tyler (her character flaws are underlined early on by her excessively pink attire and heels), while 14-year-old Annie Halloran does brilliantly as the daughter of the Camp Star head honcho Axel Turner, particularly in a scene in which she faces some extremely awkward teenage boy chat (or lack of it).
But it's difficult not to ignore the rest, all 85 of them (at a quick head count), from tiny 10-year-olds to towering teenagers, who regularly descend upon the stage for hands-in-the-air dancing and singing sessions. Despite the numbers, the choreography is almost flawless and the singing marred only by very occasional issues with volume levels.
While obviously a treat for proud parents, the show's target audience made up most of the crowd and whooped and laughed at all the right moments. There were also moments of unrehearsed audience participation. In the second half of Tuesday night's evening show, a distressed Shane yelled out that nobody cared that he was a rock star, at which point a shriek came from the front row which sounded almost like "I do!".
It was perhaps a shame that the cast had to adopt American accents throughout (one unexpected comedy moment came as one member accidentally slipped into very-British English mid-sentence), and it would have been nice if the musicians actually played their instruments on stage instead of pretending. But these are minor faults, ones that could perhaps be ironed out in the next band camp, or whichever show-stopping teenage musical next comes to town.
• Disney's Camp Rock: The Musical is showing until July 16 at the First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, with performances at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Book online at www.madinattheatre.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
