"Festival in Motion": International Dance Festival by Qatar Creates

Festival in Motion, presented by Qatar Creates, was announced on December 3 and will run from December 5 through December 20, 2022, concurrent with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. It will feature a significant international dance and music program with more than 55 site-specific performances at some of Qatar's most significant architectural landmarks.

Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, came up with the idea for Festival in Motion, which was co-curated by two highly esteemed artists: French choreographer and filmmaker Benjamin Millepied, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Influential L.A. Dance Project, choreographer of the film Black Swan, and Former Director of the Paris Opera Ballet, and renowned American composer Nico Muhly.

More than a dozen renowned performers from around the world are featured during the 13-day program. The National Museum of Qatar and the Museum of Islamic Art are two museums where audiences can catch performances for free. Other notable venues throughout Qatar include public art installations by Richard Serra and Tony Smith, as well as Olafur Eliasson's Shadows traveling on the sea of the day in Al Zubarah and the monumental desert installation East West/West East at the Brouq Nature Reserve in Zekreet (Historic Barzan Towers).

According to Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, "We have made it our strategy to take our art to the neighborhoods and towns of Qatar. The landscape is open for visitors to enjoy art and culture from the airport to every corner of the nation, enhancing our iconic institutions and collections. We have asked Nico Muhly and Benjamin Millepied to select modern dance performances for the World Cup that showcase dancers from all across the world. The first event of its type, the Festival in Motion, will bring together the art forms of music, art, and architecture. Inspiring people to consider the boundless potential of creativity is our hope for these performances."

On December 20 in the late afternoon, Benjamin Millepied will perform in his own piece with the L.A. Dance Project at the location of Richard Serra's East West/West East to live music performed by Nico Muhly.

There will also be participation from L.A. Dance Project. L.A. Dance Project, co-founded in 2012 by artistic director Benjamin Millepied, produces bold works in conventional settings and out-of-the-ordinary settings in Los Angeles and around the world. In 2017, LADP opened its own studio and theater space, which allowed it to produce and present its work locally and establish itself as a center for top-tier dance in Los Angeles. The 18 dancers of the company present a variety of choreographic works, including commissions from up-and-coming and famous choreographers, notable historical revivals, and multidisciplinary partnerships.

The 13-day, free program will be held in these places:

• National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel
• Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei
• Museum of Islamic Art Park, Heritage Dhow Boats
• Olafur Eliasson’s new public artwork, Shadows traveling on the sea of the day (2022), at Al Zubarah -- a UNESCO World Heritage site (Northeast of Doha(
• Historic Barzan Towers in the village of Umm Salal Mohammed (North of Doha(
• Smoke, a public art installation by artist Tony Smith at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre in the West Bay of Doha
• Al Wakrah Pier (Al Wakrah Souq, South of Doha(
• Richard Serra’s Seven, a sculptural installation in the Museum of Islamic Art Park at the end of the Corniche in Doha.
• Doha Central Post Office, Central Plaza, off the Corniche in Doha.
• Richard Serra’s East West/West East, Brouq Nature Reserve in Zekreet.