Thikra: Night of Remembering 2026 in Abu Dhabi

Thikra: Night of Remembering in Abu Dhabi brings Akram Khan Company’s contemporary dance work to the Cultural Foundation on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2026. Created by choreographer Akram Khan with Saudi artist Manal AlDowayan, the hour-long piece follows a group of women who gather for one night to honour those who came before them, in a ritual of shared remembrance inspired by AlUla.

The show starts at 8pm each night, with doors opening 30 minutes earlier. These Abu Dhabi dates are billed as part of the company’s final chapter.

A work born in AlUla

Thikra was commissioned by Wadi AlFann, the Valley of the Arts in AlUla, and premiered in January 2025 during the AlUla Arts Festival as a site-specific performance in the open desert, with sandstone cliffs and the night sky as its backdrop. The opening involved around 40 local performers, artists and musicians alongside Akram Khan Company.

The title comes from the Arabic word for memory and remembrance. The piece draws on AlUla’s landscape, mythology and cultural heritage, including its Nabataean past and the stories of the women who lived there, and reflects on ritual, ancestry and contemporary life. It is imagined as an annual gathering in which the performers seek healing and collective knowledge through ritual.

After AlUla, the work was adapted for indoor theatres, with co-producers including Sadler’s Wells in London, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Berliner Festspiele and the Pina Bausch Zentrum, with the Bagri Foundation as primary co-producing partner, and it has since toured Europe and the United States.

The artists behind Thikra

Akram Khan

Akram Khan is a London-born dancer and choreographer of Bangladeshi descent, known for blending the classical Indian dance form kathak with contemporary dance. He created a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, has collaborated with artists as varied as Juliette Binoche, Steve Reich and Kylie Minogue, and made his first full-length ballet, Lady Macbeth, for the Royal Danish Ballet. After 25 years, his company is winding down as he moves on to new projects, which makes these performances among the last chances to see it.

Manal AlDowayan

Manal AlDowayan is a Saudi visual artist who co-conceived Thikra with Khan and created its visual world. For AlUla she designed the costumes and scenography, working with local artisans from Madrasat Addeera and using natural pigments and traditional Saudi craft techniques. On stage, her rocky set sits on a bed of sand, bringing a piece of the desert indoors.

What to expect from the performance

Thikra is performed by an all-female international ensemble of contemporary and Bharatanatyam dancers, with contemporary voices woven through the piece. Reviews of the tour describe the women moving in close unison, long hair swinging in time, as they summon an ancestor, played by a young woman in white, through ritual.

The ritual has distinct roles. A matriarch leads the gathering with her daughters around her, while another woman acts as the ritual’s vessel, handling the ancestor’s body and later working almost like a puppet master. The cast for the Abu Dhabi dates has not been published, so performers may differ from earlier stops on the tour.

The original score is by Aditya Prakash, with sound design by Gareth Fry, lighting by Zeynep Kepekli and dramaturgy by Blue Pieta. Critics have noted the score’s mix of Arabic music and Bulgarian choral singing, which gives the evening a ceremonial, almost sacred feel. At 60 minutes, it is a concentrated experience that works best if you let the mood carry you rather than look for a literal story.

The venue: Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi

The Cultural Foundation is on Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, also known as 2nd Street, in central Abu Dhabi, beside Qasr Al Hosn. There is parking on site but spaces are limited, so a taxi is often the easier choice; most drivers know the venue. The nearest public transport hub is Abu Dhabi Bus Station, about 1.2km away.

A few venue rules are worth knowing. You need the Platinumlist app to access your ticket before entering the theatre. Latecomers are admitted only at a suitable break and may be seated elsewhere, which matters for a one-hour piece with no interval. Food and drink are not allowed inside the theatre.

Who it suits

Thikra is a strong choice for contemporary dance followers, admirers of Akram Khan’s work and anyone curious to see Bharatanatyam in a modern setting. It will also appeal to people who know AlUla or Manal AlDowayan’s art, and to newcomers to dance who would like a compact, visually striking introduction. The Abu Dhabi listing does not give an age policy; for its London run, Sadler’s Wells recommended the piece for ages 12 and over.

For more on the capital’s cultural calendar, see our art and culture listings, browse shows and theatre, explore things to do in Abu Dhabi, or check the full November calendar.