DUBAI //Under flashing red and green strobe lights in a smoky bar, Roy Kelly belts out classic rock tunes.
As lead guitarist for the Rock Spiders, a band that plays at the Majestic Hotel, he has done so more than 300 times in the past 11 months.
Later this month, he has a more important gig: playing music with his daughter back home in the Philippines.
Mr Kelly is among the many UAE musicians and dancers who are getting ready for a rare holiday during Ramadan when work dries up.
For performers with a job to return to at the end of the holy month, it is a welcome chance to rest and see family. For others, it is a time of uncertainty that lasts weeks, possibly months.
"I am happy to go home," said Mr Kelly before heading on stage for one of his final performances ahead of Ramadan. As is the case for many performers, his employer won't pay him during his time off but will cover his return airfare.
Back in Luzon, he will see friends, cook for his family and resume helping his seven-year-old daughter to learn the piano and violin, he said. He'll pull out his guitar for a few hours a day, too.
Like many a rocker, Mr Kelly sports long hair and a thick silver chain. He has been performing in the UAE since before his daughter was born. He talks to her and her mother every evening before meeting the group for a warm-up. Then it is on with the show, which lasts until 2am. The band plays every night except for two days off a month.
Mr Kelly gets free room and board and sends 80 per cent of his pay home to his family.
"I like it," he said. "It's not bad, not good."
Equally as excited to go home is Tatyana Belinskaya, who sings at a Russian restaurant called Troyka at the Royal Ascot Hotel. She likes the work and the open-ended contract, but says it is draining.
She shimmies on stilettos while delivering a stream of Russian and American tunes requested by diners from 11pm to 3am. She takes to the stage every night of the year, except for a few public holidays and Ramadan.
"It's very difficult to work like this without a day off," she said. "So we must relax."
Kamilla Mutagarova, a dancer at Troyka, has an even more demanding repertoire full of leaps and quick choreography - and only a six-month contract.
When she goes home to Russia on Tuesday she will have to start looking for a new job. She has already done stints in South Korea, Turkey and Italy, but wishes she could stay here. "I love Dubai. I want to come back," she said.
However, many employers stick to short contracts so they can cycle through entertainers. At the Beach Club bar, which features African bands, the manager Rafeek Arakkal said he hires performers for six months at a time at most.
He let the latest group go a week before Ramadan and will find a new set after Eid.
"Seventy-five per cent of our customers are regulars," he said. "They don't like to see the same faces again and again."
Sometimes performers prefer brief contracts, too.
Laura Corallini croons alongside a pianist in the swish Bar 44 at Grosvenor House and will deliver her final melody there on Thursday before flying back to Argentina.
For the past two years in the UAE, she has worked for three to eight months at a venue, then returned home for one or two months to reconnect with family and look for another job.
Finding new gigs has been pretty easy, she said, and each time her employer has paid for her airfare, room and board.
"We like the combination of being able to travel and go home," she said, referring to her accompanying pianist. "We are quite lucky."
chuang@thenational.ae
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Barbie
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
