Performing arts major SPAA opens admissions for 2023 academic year

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The Sharjah Performing Arts Academy (SPAA), a world-leading performing arts education and training institution, has announced the launch of admissions for the new academic year, alongside a schedule of live auditions and interviews, open days, workshops, masterclasses, facility tours, networking events and productions set to inspire prospective students. Admissions for the academy are now open for the 2023 academic year, with SPAA’s admissions process perhaps being as unique as the institution itself. Auditions for the highly sought after programmes in Acting, Production Arts and Musical Theatre and the acclaimed Trinity Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance began on October 1 and runs till April 1, 2023, with open days and live auditions and interviews taking place October 15 and again early in November.

Students applying for acceptance onto one of SPAA’s undergraduate programmes, could enjoy a stimulating and engaging audition or interview process. The academy offers a number of opportunities for budding talent to attend auditions and open days, as well as network with academic leaders, teachers and current students.

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With the generosity of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, full scholarships are available to eligible students upon acceptance into the Academy. The scholarships cover tuition and accommodation for the duration of the BA programme. The fully funded merit-assistance is available for eligible students each academic year.

Professor Peter Barlow, Executive Director, SPAA, said: “Sharjah Performing Arts Academy provides students with a world-class opportunity to study, practice and take part in developing professional performing arts in the region. We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of talented students as they embark on a journey, which will define their future.

“We are thrilled to hone the skills of our students within the fields of acting, musical theatre, dance and production arts and look forward to guiding and nurturing them during their artistic journey, whilst providing them with the necessary industry experience and global connections, which will define their future careers.

On the table at SPAA.

“Graduates of the Academy will become enterprising, creative and skilled artists and creatives, and act as guiding lights redefining the future of performing arts.” He has also noted that “SPAA informs, challenges, educates, questions, discovers and celebrates diversity; where everyone strives for excellence and the best means of storytelling by embracing all cultures, abilities and styles.”

Barlow is a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA), and has been teaching and training actors, performers, and theatre technicians for more than 30 years. A graduate of Rose Bruford, College of Speech and Drama, he has been responsible for representing and leading top drama schools in the UK.

Opening in 2019 to provide world-class professional conservatoire style training alongside formal education in performing and production arts for a new generation of exceptionally talented students, SPAA is the leading performing arts academy of its kind in the region offering quality undergraduate degree and diploma programmes in acting, musical theatre, production arts and dance.

A world-class facility galvanising communities, it showcases local and international creative talent, leading the way in higher education for professional performing arts. Born from the progressive vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, SPAA is also the only Academy of its kind in the Middle East.

It offers the opportunity for candidates to study full-time Bachelor degrees in Acting, Production Arts and Musical Theatre, in addition to the Trinity Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance, with programmes led by highly qualified professionals and educators using intensive, practice-based training.

Embodying the vision of the Ruler of Sharjah to elevate the performing arts industry in the UAE and beyond, the Academy is dedicated to providing students with a first-class opportunity to study, practice and take part in developing professional performing arts in the region, ensuring the cultural potential of the region is successfully realised.

SPAA trains, educates and produces graduates with a competitive edge in an international market, arming students and graduates with the necessary skills to develop a lasting and prosperous career within the professional performing arts industry. 

It offers the opportunity for candidates, aspiring performers, dancers, actors, designers, technicians and stage managers to study full-time Bachelor degrees in Acting, Production Arts and Musical Theatre — in addition to the Trinity Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance — with programmes led by highly experienced professionals, with students undertaking a robust schedule of intensive, practice-based training.  It welcomes students from around the world, and is currently home to a cohort of students from more than 40 countries around the world, including the UK, USA, UAE, KSA, Chile, India, Singapore, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco and beyond. Thus the Academy offers students a culturally rich and diversified experience, allowing them to thrive professionally and intellectually, while making friends from around the world.

“SPAA graduates will be strong, confident, independent individuals with life skills that enable them to make a significant contribution to society. Our graduates will be enterprising, creative and skilled artists, as well as entrepreneurial, socially mobile and generous human beings,” it avers. During their course, students have the opportunity to undertake work experience, internships as well as professional roles within the Middle East’s creative sector, including Dubai Opera, Art Dubai and Sharjah Art Foundation, to enrich their cultural and artistic experiences.