When you go to a performance, you take your spectator's seat and wait dutifully to be moved.

Sometimes you aren't impressed.

And sometimes you are.

And when you are, you often marvel at how they were able to do that.

There's a group in the UAE, a motley crew of artists who are blending spoken word poetry and beautiful music, who have moved us, and we want to share them with you.

But to share it as honestly as we know how, we're going to deconstruct their performance and share with you the behind the scenes.

The intimate brainstorming, mindless strumming of instruments

and fiddling of words and sounds that are so necessary in order to bring you that polished version

you see on stage. This is Hibba Fisher, and you're listening to Kearning Cultures.

If I can set the scene, there's five of us, sitting on chairs and couches amidst flickering

candles and microphones plugged into instruments.

We're in Murawan's living room.

He's a Palestinian-German hybrid who's been playing the oud since he was 11.

That's him, strumming.

Sitting next to him, her curly hair piled up into a bun is Farah Shama, a young, fiery spoken word poet in Dubai, though her words

reach across the region and beyond. Often she performs political or social pieces in Arabic, French,

or Portuguese, and I've seen her bring an audience

to goosebumps and tears.

She's 21.

Palestinian by heritage, Brazilian by passport, and Emirati by residency and claim to home.

Sitting next to Farah is Edith Theria, a Greek classical musician trained on any instrument

you can think of, though her instrument of choice this evening is the viola.

...