2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival
26 February - 21 March 2010
The New Zealand International Arts Festival is New Zealand's premiere cultural event and one of the leading multi-arts festivals in the world.
Once every two years New Zealand’s harbour capital – Wellington - transforms into one of the world’s great Festival cities. The easily accessible theatres, concert halls and galleries all within walking distance, come alive with the best arts from around the globe. For three weeks the Festival buzz is exhilarating and addictive for locals and visitors who take part in this journey of discovery.
In 2010 290,000 people participated in over 300 events performed by over 1000 artists from 35 countries. Thanks to all the artists, audiences, sponsors, patrons and funders who get behind the Festival and make it possible.
2010 Festival delivers outside the box
The 2010 Festival enthralled audiences of all ages with 300 stunning events held over 24 days. Free events and Tix for Twenty made the Festival available to more audiences than ever before, while Art on the Move delivered performances to those in the region beyond Wellington.
"It's the world arts scene at your door, in your reach, in Wellington." Audience member
Here's just a few of the Festival team's highlights from 2010
Mahler's Symphony No. 8 was a spectacular Festival curtain raiser. World-renowned conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and eight of the world's finest soloists joined a mass choir of 300 in a majestic performance. Beamed live to a giant screen in Wellington's Civic Square, over 3,500 people were spellbound both under the stars and in the Michael Fowler Centre.
New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week brought big thinkers from around the world to our doorstep. Simon Schama, Richard Dawkins, Neil Gaiman and Peter Singer provoked subjects for discussion long after their sellout sessions were over.
Heart-stopping street theatre required bystanders to reserve a spot on the footpath.
Bursting out of shop windows in Wellington's CBD, Revolt of the Mannequins embarked on adventures with comic-strip brilliance. In Waitangi Park, Transport Exceptionnels depicted the romance of the year with a dance between man and digger, a seduction that included over 14,000 onlookers.
Dance delved deep into cultures and genres.
Breathtaking dance and acrobatics from Sutra's Shaolin monks gave a fascinating insight into their cultural traditions. Equally as energetic, Good Morning Mr Gershwin presented the beloved composer's Broadway classics in a fusion of hip-hop, tap, ballet and contemporary dance against a massive backdrop of emotive video imagery.
Dazzling displays of physicality, bewitching storytelling and intoxicating live music took us to the heart of circus arts in Cirkus Cirkor's Inside Out.
Emergent choreographers transformed the floor - and our perceptions of dance. Australia's Shaun Parker charmed with Happy As Larry as he explored that elusive thing called happiness. Kiwi Claire O'Neill and Footnote Dance Company showed there is calm amid (Festival) chaos in MTYLand.
Theatre pushed our boundaries.
There were some notable "firsts" in Festival 2010; the long-awaited arrival of a production from one of the world's finest directors and innovators of stage and screen, Peter Brook (11 and 12) and the exclusive Australasian debuts of two European whiz-kid directors who are revolutionising theatre – Poland's Grzegorz Jarzyna (T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T.) and Latvia's Alvis Hermanis (Sound of Silence).
A play without words, Sound of Silence captured the love, peace and flower-power idealism of the 60s through the music of Simon and Garfunkel.
A play within a play, The Walworth Farce blended madcap humour with the darker concerns of human existence.
A play with a visual language, The Arrival's enchanting story of hope and humanity was told through puppetry, shadow-play and music.
A theatre experience out of this world, Apollo13: Mission Control was a rollicking inter-galactic experience where the audience made the decisions necessary to bring stranded astronauts safely home.
The stories of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Mark Twain and Me in Maoriland and He Reo Aroha powerfully tapped into the heart of this nation.
Music with soul.
From the smooth tones of the Branford Marsalis Quartet and elegance of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, through the heart-felt ballads of The Swell Season and Sweden's indie rock darlings Irya's Playground, to the Tex-Mex of the USA's Calexico – music covered all genres and tastes.
Sing the Truth, a moving tribute to the legendary High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, was a sellout. Four vivacious vocalists, Patti Austin, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, and Nina's daughter Simone, proved the feisty feminism and spark of Nina's spirit is still alive and well.
Marking his 90th birthday, esteemed musical ambassador and sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, with daughter Anouska, enlivened an evening with India's mesmeric musical forms.
Flying high at the Pacific Blue Festival Club.
The beat of the Pacific Blue Festival Club was a drawcard for audiences to experience artists from Africa to the USA, India to Ireland, Venezuela to Australia, as well home-grown Kiwi talent. The high energy line-up of bands, DJs and solo artists kept punters up till late.
Burlesque acts taunted and teased - the deliciously dark Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea took audiences on an enchanting journey to sinister places. While Dancing on Your Grave's troupe of deceased and downtrodden music hall artistes was a transcendental tour through performers' purgatory.
Roll on 2012!
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