United Arab Emirates
From November 2-17, 2021, five Hip Hop artists traveled to United Arab Emirates as part of the Next Level program. Brown Jewel (Beatmaker), RTST (DJ), Jazzmyn RED (MC), and A-A-Ron (Dance) joined site manager Dirty Digits to perform for audiences and collaborate with local artists to promote cross-cultural creative exchange and conflict transformation. Team UAE is part of a larger Next Level cohort of American MCs, DJs, beatmakers, and Hip Hop dancers seeking to create a global community through Hip Hop culture.
During the team’s time in UAE, they traveled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai while collaborating with local organizations, Embassy partners, and local artists. The team led and participated in a variety of workshops in the Next Level Academy held at Berklee Abu Dhabi. They met with students from Sharjah Performing Arts Academy (SPAA) from the neighboring Emirate of Sharjah to discuss individual artforms and how to use Hip Hop to create community and as a form of professional development. On November 15th, the Next Level team performed on the Citi Rocket Stage in the outdoor area of the US Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai.
The opening and final performances were both held on site at Berklee Abu Dhabi. The final concert featured performances from the Next Level artists with student-collaborators and was held on Berklee’s main stage. During the Arts Education Workshops, participants ranging in age and experience loved learning from the team and were excited to stay after class as long as the artist educators were willing to teach them for.
Overall, the artists showed a passion for their artforms and enjoyed sharing it with students no matter how experienced they were. Students who participated in the workshops were left inspired by the five artists and excited to continue learning.
