8 Rising UAE Trendsetters

DANA DAJANI

Dana Dajani is a Dubai-based performance artist, actor, writer, director and presenter. During her recent years, she has made notable appearances in a number of English and Arabic films, television series, commercials, theater, and events. 

In 2011, she won best actress at Tropfest Arabia for her performance in the 5mins short film titled 'At First Sight' (see below) that was inspired from the poetry of Nizar Qabbani, and which was also played during the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2012. She was also the lead actor in the film 'In Her Eyes' which was awarded the best film, best screenplay, best editing, and best cinematography at the Arab Film Studio Competition 2013.

Dana also writes for the local art magazine, Quint, and can be usually spotted around Dubai reading her poetry with Poeticians, or reciting Floetry with various singers and musicians.

Dana Dajani's strongest online presence: 
YouTube Channel: 12,308 views as of January 6, 2014

ALI AL SAYED

Ali Al Sayed is an Emirati comedian, master of ceremonies, producer, comedy coach, and presenter. Ali co-founded Dubomedy, a UAE based comedy group that has been in the funny business for over 5 years now. He has performed alongside comedy heavyweights including Maz Jobrani, Dean Edwards of SNL, Dean Obeidallah, Sugar Sammy, Aron Kader, and many more.

Ali has established a recognizable presence in the media. He recently hosted and presented MBC Action's 'Desert Force' TV show, in addition to being the weekly comedy commentator on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel show 'The Beautiful Game'. He was also seen making a number of appearances on MBC's morning show, Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab, as well as on Dubai One, OSN, BBC, and Decision Makers TV.

Ali was named ‘one of the most influential comedians in the world’ by Toastmaster’s International Magazine, nominated for Ahlan’s ‘Best in Dubai’ in the Best Personality Category, chosen as one of the ‘funniest people of the year’ by Rolling Stone and was coined “UAE’s King and Queen of Comedy” alongside his wife by Ahlan! Al Sayed was also selected along with his partner and now wife Mina Liccione, for ‘Ahlan’s Hot 100’ as Dubai’s Comedy Couple. He was also recently nominated for a Best in Dubai Award in the “Best personality” category for the second year in a row.

Ali Al Sayed's strongest online presence:

YouTube Dubomedy Channel: 448,509 views as of January 6, 2014

REEMA AL BANNA

Reema Al Banna is a Dubai-based fashion designer, and is the owner of the trending fashion line, Reemami. She began her career as a graphic designer before pursuing her passion for haute couture. She was nominated as the best regional designer at the Grazia Style awards in 2011, and her fashion line was also listed among Ahlan's best 10 fashion brands during the same year. In 2012, Reema was listed in Emirates Woman Magazine among the top 25 faces to know in the UAE.

2013 has been a busy year for Reema. Her dresses were frequently worn by celebrities during the Dubai International Film Festival. On their Facebook page, Diet Pepsi Arabia stated on Reemami "If you love young, fun clothes then this (Reemami) is the right look for you". Her photo was also displayed on Sheikh Zayed Road near Emirates Towers as a Dove Arabia ambassador of the #doveSurprises campaign. Reema and her fashion line are also frequently featured in a number of local fashion magazines.

Reema Al Banna featured during Dove Arabia's #doveSurprises campaign

On community service, Reema contributed one of her top selling fashion wear to the campaign that successfully raised funds to treat Sarah-Jean, a 20 year old girl who was diagnosed with Acute Myleoid Leukemia in the UAE.

Reema Al Banna's strongest online presence:

Instagram: 5,385 followers as of January 6, 2014

MR SHEF CODES

Mr Shef Codes, real name Shefan Lantra, has surfaced as one of the UAE's most notable R&B and Hip-Hop DJs. Based in Dubai, this young artist’s repertoire has been remarkable in the short span of time he’s been DJing. Currently signed on with Bliss Inc Entertainment, he can be found sharing the booth with Dubai’s DJ Bliss every Saturday at the award winning “411” at the number one club in town, “People by Crystal”. Holding club residencies at some of Dubai’s hottest spots including 2Liv, People by Crystal, Republique & Trilogy, he plays a mix of mainstream Hip Hop and R&B, soulful throwback tunes and some reggae treats. 

Mr Shef Codes’ rise to the club scene began when he was placed third at the annual PALME DJ in the year 2007. He’s since played at some of the biggest clubs in the UAE including; Armani/Prive’, Sanctuary, Movida, Nasimi and Etoiles while sharing stages with international artists like Lloyd, Shaggy, Kardinal Offishal, Cassidy, Robin S and Karl Wolf as well as DJs Whoo Kid, Young Guru, Tony Touch, Jazzy Jeff, Green Lantern, Clinton Sparks, Cutee B, Cut Killer, Abdel and Sake among others. Check out his 20 mins long SoundCloud 411 2nd Anniversary Mix file to get an idea of this rising DJ's mixing abilities.

No stranger to the spotlight, Shef was the official DJ for the Season 3 of Dubai One’s “20 Something”, the UAE’s biggest and only youth TV show, providing him a platform to broadcast his beats across the nation.
Not only does he love music but this upcoming artist knows a thing or two about style, which led to the creation of his men’s lifestyle blog “Coded Chronicles”. This positioned him as the DJ of choice for top fashion boutiques such as S*uce, West LA and Rivaage, where he’s kept Dubai’s fashion crowd entertained at in-store events. Shef was also shortlisted for the Ahlan! Awards 'Best Club DJ' category.

Mr Shef Codes is currently an ambassador for Lexus UAE and has collaborated with brands such as Visa, BlackBerry, Redbull, Beats by Dre & Adidas Originals.

Mr Shef Code's strongest online presence:

Twitter: 2,253 followers as of January 6, 2014

MINA AL SAMARRAI

Mina Al Samarrai is a Dubai-based accessories and fashion designer. Her love for fashion, trends, and arts is what drove her to create her own fashion and accessories line, NimNim Boutique, and release her very first collection back in 2012. She describes her designs as a testimonial for the bold women.

In 2013, Mina's accessories designs and collections were featured as part of the Women in Leadership Economic Forum. They were also exhibited, and sold, during Dubai's flagship fashion event, Fashion Forward. A few of the local and regional celebrities spotted wearing Mina's designs in 2013 include Joelle Mardinian (TV presenter of 'Joelle Show'/make up artist/creative director of Max Factor), and Lady Fozaza (fashion icon).

Joelle Mardinian wearing NimNim Earpiece

Lady Fozaza wearing NimNim Palm Ring

Mina, and her designs, is no strangers to media exposure. In 2013, MBC popular morning show 'Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab' interviewed her a number of times, and she has been also featured in a number of local magazines like Grazia and Ahlan.

Mina Al Sammarrai's strongest online presence:

Instagram: 3,371 followers as of January 6, 2014

NITIN MIRANI

Nitin is a Dubai-based stand-up comedian. His show, Komic Sutra, was one of the first comedy shows to be successfully exported outside the UAE. Nitin showcases the things that we all love to laugh about, from relationships, to the strange and diverse people that we meet every day - his words are your thoughts.

In 2013, Nitin has performed in Dubai as the opening act for comedy legend, Eddie Griffin, ahead of a strong crowd of 2,000 people. On Nitin, Eddie said "This brother from India brought the house down, watch out for him!". Nitin has also performed alongside many comedy celebs such as Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader, and Dean Obeidallah, to name a few.

In 2013, Nitin was awarded the 'Face of the Year' Award by Ahlan Masala, and was described as "one of the funniest people of the year" by Rolling Stones Middle East, and as the "king of comedy" by What's On Middle East.

Nitin Mirani's strongest online presence:

YouTube: 167,068 views as of January 6, 2014

SABA WAHID

Saba Wahid is a TV Presenter and TV Chef with a passion for the culinary arts. In the past couple of years Saba has developed her culinary resume along with her media presence in the International spectrum. After she joined the team at Dubai One, she Co-Hosted the First Season of a magazine style show called Ask One, which aired from September 2010 to December 2010. This then developed into Dubai One’s Premier Lifestyle show called Studio One which aired 5 days a week Live from January 2011-June 2011. It was a packed season filled with Celebrity Guests, Top Fashion Tips from Stylists to the Stars, and Culinary Gurus from all over the world. 

In addition to presenting the show with Co-Host Tom Urquhart, Saba also presented a weekly cooking segment on the show that gained incredible momentum on the “Foodie Scene” of Dubai, and gained her a weekly recipe feature in Ahlan! Magazine. 

Saba was nominated in 2013 as the 'Best Asian Blogger' in the Masala! Awards for the recipes she continues to share on her blog: Culinary Delights by Sabah Wahid.

Saba Wahid's strongest online presence:

YouTube: 2,127 views as of January 6, 2014


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