PERFORMANCE
CLASSICAL MUSIC & DANCE
7 & 14 February
Celebrate St Valentine’s Day at La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art with an evening of classical Indian dance. A group from New Delhi’s Seher Institution will perform traditional Odissi dance, which is intended to bring to life the sculptures of ancient temples and was performed as an offering to the gods. One week earlier, on 7 February, enjoy an evening of opera with soprano Verica Gmusa, who will perform a selection of arias by Mozart, Puccini and Verdi. She is joined by cellist Witold Wnuk, the founder of the Kuwait Chamber Philharmonica.
La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art, 92 Hoora Avenue, Manama, +973 1723 0123, www.lafontaineartcentre.com
SPORT
RIDING CHALLENGE
19-22 February
The Gulf’s top horse riders will take to the saddle at His Majesty the King’s Cup Show Jumping Championship at the Police Mounted Grounds, Budaiya. Billed as the Kingdom’s most prestigious equestrian competition, the event will include a grand-prix challenge, among other classes. More than 100 riders are expected to display their show jumping skills at the contest and entrance to the evening event is free. Interested competitors should register on the website.
+973 1775 4300, www.equestrianbahrain.com
EXPO
Nature’s best
5-9 February
Think green, understand holistic treatments and learn more about natural health at the Bahrain International Natural Health Products & Green Expo. The event focuses on well-being, holistic lifestyle practices and building a community around these concepts. Organised by the Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority and Mind, Body & Beyond Expo Management in Los Angeles, USA, it will feature top exhibitors from health, spa and natural living industries who develop environmentally-safe products. A conference with some of the industry’s notable speakers will also run alongside the expo. At the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre.
+973 1755 8826
COMMUNITY
Wales’ time
26 February
Bahrain’s Welsh community will celebrate St David’s Day, their national day, with a charity ball at the Awal Ballroom, Gulf Hotel. The dinner and dance will feature Bruce Anderson, winner of the Welsh Vocalist of the Year. His rock, pop and classical music will be followed by dancing to a DJ.
+973 3961 7624
EXPO
Baby love
25-28 February
The Mother and Baby Show at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre will include products, accessories, clothing, health care, insurance and toys. Children’s entertainment, competitions, workshops and live demos are also planned.
+973 1720 0001
ART
Three of a kind
From 3 February
Albareh Art Gallery goes into overdrive this month with three major exhibitions, starting with abstract work by Iranian artist Ferideh Lashai from 3 February. Her paintings feature calligraphy and design elements and she has exhibited in Iran, Europe and the USA. From 18 February, Syrian artist and critic Talal Moulla exhibits his work, including pieces formed by scratching lines into paper. And at the café a group exhibition from 23 February features works by Bahraini artists Ibrahim bu Saad and Jafar AlOrabi, Iraqis Ahmed Al-Bahrani and Falah Al-Obidli, Egyptian Mahmoud Maghrabi and Qatari artists Ali Hassan and Salman AlMalik. Each exhibitions runs for 10 days.
+973 1771 7707, www.albareh.com
LIVE MUSIC
Musical youth
16-19 February
The Young Musicians of the Gulf, the biggest competition for talent in the region, returns to Bahrain. More than 100 students from the GCC will take part in competitions and concerts. There will also be music composition and orchestra workshops.
+973 3906 7671
BELT UP
Julia Stuart meets the Arab world’s only woman senior Hummer instructor
Within minutes of her pulling up in a Hummer, a 4×4 vehicle the size of a small house, tourists at Bahrain’s International Circuit start taking Narmeen Ismail Salim’s photograph. Wearing beige trousers with a matching hijab, as well as huge designer shades, she is an arresting sight for those surprised to see a woman emerge from behind the wheel of such a giant car.
The tourists would be even more startled if they followed Mrs Salim to the Hummer Driving Academy’s hair-raising course, based at the circuit. The world’s only female Arab senior Hummer instructor, she expertly manoeuvres the vehicle around the 32 obstacles with justly terrifying names such as Quicksand, Drastic Drop and Don’t Look Down. Some are pitched at such vertiginous angles you can no longer see the ground. It is little wonder that one of her male passengers once asked to get out as his nerves failed him.
Not only does the instructor take passenger rides, but she also teaches one-and-a-half and three-day off-roading courses which progress from the obstacle course to the desert, where drivers can learn to negotiate extreme hills, rock crawling, how not to sink in sand, and desert survival skills.
“When some customers arrive at the academy they take one step back and say they don’t want a lady instructor,” admits Mrs Salim, who was also the first Bahraini to gain a black belt in taekwondo. “I just joke and say that not everybody drives like their wife. Then I take them on the course and they start screaming. At the end they clap their hands and say it’s amazing.”
The instructor, who co-owns and runs a pre-school, joined the academy three years ago after hearing that a position had become available. She had honed her skills off-roading in her Land Rover in the desert, a passion she shares with her husband, a banker. After several months of training in Bahrain, she was sent to the Hummer Driving Academy in America to become qualified.
The Bahraini, who drives a Classic Mini Cooper around town, gets her pluck from her father, who taught all three of his daughters basic car maintenance before allowing them to learn to drive. Even today, she’ll put on a jump-suit and help her husband repair their vehicles.
“I like to do things that show that women, particularly Arab women, are just as capable as men. When I was small I would ride my bike on one wheel to show the boys what girls could do,” she says.
She remembers the time in the desert when some of her male relatives got stuck in soft sand. “They were trying to get the car out,” she says. “I was watching and I told them not to do it like that, but they told me to keep quiet. They couldn’t get it out, so I said: ‘OK, it’s my turn.’ In a few minutes the car was out. You should dig in front of the car and put rocks down to get some traction. It’s easy.”
Hummer Driving Academy +973 1745 0000, www.hummerarabia.com
FEBRUARY
The pick of events, exhibitions and festivals happening in Gulf Air destination cities this month
LONDON
Joaquín Cortés Unleashed
4-5 February
The Roundhouse comes alive with foot stamping and Spanish guitar as flamenco king Cortés and his band of singers and musicians hit town. www.roundhouse.org.uk
PARIS
Paris Rétromobile
6-15 February
The 34th show of vintage vehicles at the Porte de Versailles this year includes a sale of automotive memorabilia and collectors’ items, a 90th anniversary tribute to manufacturer Citroën and a look at 100 years of environmental developments. www.retromobile.fr
BEIRUT
Al-Bustan Festival
18 February-22 March
Five weeks of chamber music concerts – as well as orchestral, opera, choral, dance and theatre performances – at the Al-Bustan Hotel. www.albustanfestival.com
ABU DHABI
Emirates Photography Competition
4-8 February
The fourth edition of this competition celebrates French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and includes workshops with his Magnum colleague Steve McCurry. www.ephotoc.net
TEHRAN
Fajr International Film Festival
Until 10 February
Iran’s stand-out film event is now in its 27th year, promising a mix of works from overseas and locally, with the aim of bridging East and West. www.fajrfestival.ir
KUWAIT
Hala Festival
Throughout February
Now in its 10th year, this month-long festival kicks off with a three-day carnival and includes traditional music, poetry evenings and fireworks. www.hala-feb.com
CHIANG MAI
Chiang Mai Flower Festival
6-8 February
Buak Hat Park in the old city, with its historic moats, is the setting for three days of hundreds of colourful floral displays, as well as a parade of floats decorated with flowers (pictured). www.tourismthailand.org |
