A long, long time ago....
The Pearl Diver's Daughter. A tale of family. Tradition. The perils of the diver and the wonders of the sea.
Created as, first, an Augmented Reality experience premiering in October/November of 2021 throughout the United Arab Emirates. Then, in March 2023 the full evening length premiere comes to the stage of the Abu Dhabi Festival under the sponsorship of the Embassy of the United States in the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, the United States Pavillion at Expo and the Cultural Foundation of Abu Dhabi.
The '23 performance features Grammy Nominated Singer/Songwriter Mayssa Karaa as the storyteller who takes the audience on their timeless journey.
A collaboration across cultures, created by Paul Gordon Emerson, Company | E's Executive and Co-Artistic Director, and co-writer Maitha Al Khayat and composer Eman Al Hashimi, two the the Emirates' leading storytellers and composers. Performed by the artists of Company | E and featuring Grammy nominated Singer/Songwriter Mayssa Karra.
![]() Maitha Al Khayat - co-writer |
![]() Eman Al Hashimi - composer |
Drawing on the history of Pearl Diving and the wonders of imagination, The Pearl Diver's Daughter blends cutting edge technology with choreography, music and narrative to take audiences of all ages beneath the waves of the Persian Gulf.
For The Pearl Diver's Daughter, dancers Stefanie Noll and Sarah Pippin and singer Cat Madden were captured in a state-of-the-art- rig of 140 cameras, creating an extraordinary level of detail in 360 degrees. The artists are then rendered into fully photo-realistic holograms which will be placed in a CGI created undersea environment.
Taken together they are part of a 10 minute AR experience which premieres in October/November throughout the UAE's seven Emirates. That program, the first of its kind in the UAE, introduces the story, and the quest, of the Pearl Diver and his family, a journey which continues in the live performances.
Following on from the all-AR Pearl Diver's Daughter experience around the UAE, Company | E brings the full-length mixed reality evening to the concert stage as a part of the Abu Dhabi Festival. Presented by the Embassy of the United States of America in the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival (ADMAF) and the Department of Culture and Tourism. The only American dance company to be presented at the UAE's most prestigious festival, PDD in the UAE is the realization of a two-year program interrupted by COVID-19.
The program features a partnership with not just Emirati composers and storytellers, but with musicians, dancers, designers and more, creating a full collaboration between artists from these two countries.
The Pearl Diver's Daughter is a part of Company | E's ongoing work with the U.S. Department of State and a core part of the organization's mission.
Working with U.S. Embassies overseas and Foreign Missions to the United States at home in DC, Company | E's core work is to bring people and cultures together through movement, music and cross-cultural dialogue and engagement.
SCHOOL'S OPEN
"The MC builds and supports whole-child learning...instilling the values of self-discipline and team building."
- Roseanna B. MC Parent
The Company | E Movement Center for Dance Education teaches the next generation both the technique and the joy of movement.
SUMMER INTENSIVE
The Seventh Annual Company | E Summer Dance Intensive. | June 26 - 30 in Washington, DC.
Spend an incredible week with the artists of Company E, learning the work of the Company and getting an inside look at the world of Cultural Diplomacy.
"...exactly the kind of work we had imagined when creating the Performances for Young Audiences series, elegantly combining multiple art forms including modern dance, classical music, storytelling, visual arts, and theater."
-- David Kilpatrick, Director, Education Programs and Productions. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.