About Dana

Poet . Performer . Presenter

Dana Dajani is an award-winning Palestinian American actress, poet, and humanitarian. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Columbia College Chicago, and began her professional acting career on the Windy City’s stages. In 2011, Dana moved to Dubai where she quickly gained recognition for her performances on stage and on screen, in Arabic and English.

Dana’s work as a performer and educator has taken her around the world; from performing at the Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, to teaching acting workshops at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts center, and creating a Drama Therapy Program for children with Autism in the UAE. She was honored as the Emirates Woman "Artist of the Year", and received the “Young Arab Award for Entertainment” in 2016. Dana was also recognized by Stylist Arabia as one of the "50 Influential and Inspirational Women in the UAE".

Known for her original poems performed with theatrical flair, Dana has been invited to share her poetry internationally. Part spoken-word, part one-woman show, Dana uses gesture, character, and a simple scarf to transport audiences through various social justice themes presented in verse by her characters.

As a humanitarian advocate and activist, Dana has worked with numerous INGOs supporting causes like Palestine, clean water access, education for women, youth empowerment, and more. Dana has given inspirational Keynote addresses on topics such as: Dreaming into an Empowered Education, Pathways to Success, Finding your Voice, Women in Conflict, Time Banking, and others. Additionally, Dana is one of the founding members of the Spiral Sessions, a 6-stage accelerator program to enable individuals and organizations to take positive change towards climate action and social welfare.

Dana currently lives in Doha, Qatar with her husband, Slovakian-Lebanese Motion Graphic artist Rami Kanso. Together, the couple have created a series of poetry films. “Caged Bird” has garnered multiple awards during its film festival tour around the world.

Dana Dajani Professional CV
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Press & Media

ON STAGE

PErformer

Dana has created four hour-long theatrical productions which theatre with spoken word and stunning graphic visuals. Read more about them.

presenter

As an event MC and presenter, Dana
draws on her varied experience in comedy,
poetry, and as a corporate training facilitator, to write and present content which is eloquent,
entertaining, and informative.

Panelist

Dana has been invited to participate
as a panellist and moderator at
conferences and festivals around the
globe. Topics of focus include: Sustainability, Arab Women in the Arts,
Human Capital Development, IOT, Equality
in the workplace, Theatre, Feminism in the
Middle East, and more.

Dana was honoured in Dubai as
Emirates Woman Artist of the Year and received the Young Arab Award for Entertainment in 2016. She was also recognized by Stylist Arabia as one of the 50 Influential and Inspirational Women in the UAE.