Mina Liccione: Clown With A Cause
Like her fiancé Ali, Mina is multi-talented. As well as being co-founder of Dubomedy, she’s also a professional comedienne, a performing arts educator and a tap dancer all rolled into one. “Yes, I pretty much do it all and I’ve performed since the age of three, making my first TV appearance at 17 on MTV’s The Grind.”
The Italian-American originally came to Dubai for just two weeks to perform in a show, then she was asked to teach comedy workshops and three years later, she’s still here with no plans to leave. “I met my soon-to-be husband here and the country is incredible, unlike anywhere else,” says Mina. “I love the mix of cultures and being able to create something from the ground up.”
Apart from providing an array of entertainment, Dubomedy is also giving back to the community with the Clowns Who Care volunteer project. “Our team of volunteer artists go to hospitals to tell jokes and sing with the patients – laughter is the best medicine after all!”
Ali Al Sayed: Knock-out Comedian
As a complete all-rounder in the entertainment industry, Ali is known for his work as a comedian, artist manager, producer, director and teacher, as well as founder of Viva Arts and co-founder of Dubomedy Arts.
Describing himself as loud, crazy and hairy, the UAE-born multi-tasker recently signed on the Orbit Showtime team as a producer, presenter and writer as he develops his own Arabic comedy show, due to be broadcasted this autumn.
“It’s a challenging job making people laugh, but it’s the challenge that makes it such a fantastic ride,” says Ali who admits he didn’t always think he’s be a comedian. “I actually come from a very corporate background and after seven attempts to quit my job, I finally stepped down from the ladder and formed the comedy partnerships with my fiancée, Mina. We have always imported entertainment from the West and my dream is to one day export entertainment from here.”
Ali also has one other bizarre dream. “My fiancée’s dad is an Italian-American boxing promoter, so I would like to do a Middle Eastern re-enactment of Meet The Parents!”
