Symbolising triumph after a battle, the dance of war – al ayyala – combines song and dance. It is considered to embody the UAE’s finest historical and cultural values, and is now performed to welcome to dignitaries visiting Abu Dhabi. The performers’ coordinated movements and vocal refrains are accompanied by gunfire and the waving of swords and daggers in a display that epitomises the courage and fortitude of Bedouin in the desert. Al harbia is a similar dance, in which the rhythm is supplied purely by vocal chants and the recitation of poetry.