The annual interclassico football match kicked off at 7 p.m. last Wednesday at the NYU Abu Dhabi football pitch. The event pitted seniors and alumni against underclassmen for an all out battle of the classes. With historically poor odds of winning, as they have fallen short in the last several interclassico games, the Class of 2019 was prepared for the fight of their lives.

“Some say it's the senior curse,” said Kirk Edward Mariano, Class of 2019, who played goalkeeper during the game. “So obviously, when we were down 5-2, we thought that we have been plagued by the curse as well.” After an active game, it was starting to look like the Class of 2019 was done for. Instead of giving in to the pressure of the historical norm, they continued to battle. Still, as the game came to a close, the underclassmen team still held the lead with 5-4. With only three minutes left however in an unexpected breakthrough, the the Class of 2019 bounced back, scoring one final goal to bring the final score to 5-5.

“We didn’t lose hope and just kept fighting till the end. Being in goal and seeing how the entire game unfolded in the end was simply amazing,” Edward Mariano said. “I believe we've fought the way we've fought all year, with heart and determination: like a true falcon.”

Last thursday, Camille A. Brown and dancers graced the stage of NYU Abu Dhabi Art Center’s Red Theatre for their performance of Ink, an exploration of race, culture and identity through African American social dance. The classically trained dancers performed works based in social dance, Tap, Jazz, Modern and Hip-Hop styles, all choreographed by Brown, the leader of the New York-based dance troupe. Ink is the third piece Brown’s dance trilogy on Black Identity, following, "Mr. TOL E. RAncE" (2012) and "BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play" (2015).

During their week on campus, Brown and her troupe held several question and answer sessions during which students and faculty asked about Brown’s writing style, methods and vision. The troupe was also taken around the city and out to the Liwa desert in order to get a taste of the UAE culture.

Brown says that she sees her dancers as actors, and it showed in their performance. Each movement is carefully choreographed to tell some of the many stories of living as an African American in the United States. After the event, Brown and two of her dancers, Maleek Washington and Timothy Edwards, sat down for a listening session, in which they asked the audience what the performance made them feel. Overall, the performance showed thoughtful insight into the complexities of urban life in the U.S.