More than 800 artists and performers from 29 countries showcased their art at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington from February 22 to March 16.
A broad range of styles encompassed theatre, music, dance, opera, writing and the visual arts.
The arts festival took place in various venues in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city at the southern end of the North Island.
Theatre program
Highlights of the festival's theatre program included National Theatre of Scotland's Black Watch, which had been in the Sydney Festival in January; Chekhov's Three Sisters directed by Cheek by Jowl founder Declan Donnellan with a Russian cast; New Zealand's suburban satire bro'Town; the Sydney Theatre Company production of Blackbird directed by Cate Blanchett; and director Nigel Jamieson's dance theatre piece Honour Bound.
New stage commissions for the 2008 festival included Indian Ink Theatre's first production in five years, The Dentist's Chair, and the world premiere of the opera, The Trial of the Cannibal Dog, a contemporary adaptation of an award-winning book by Dame Anne Salmond.
Classical music
New Zealand classical music highlights included the internationally renowned pianist, New Zealand-born Stephen De Pledge, performing a world premiere of work from New Zealand's most acclaimed composers in Landscapes Preludes; Jenny McLeod's new work The Poet, commemorating New Zealand writer Janet Frame's status at the cornerstone of New Zealand literature, featuring Tower Voices NZ and the New Zealand String Quartet; and Stroma who performed a new soundtrack to three Charlie Chaplin films in ChaplinOperas.
Waterfront events
Events on the waterfront included one of the world's largest interactive artworks, Body Movies, a free public art installation featuring photo portraits from around Wellington and the world, which people could match, animate or embody through shadow-play; and Cirque Ici's Secret, which enlisted Johann Le Guillerm, circus artist, equilibrist, and sculpture manipulator, performing under the big top in Odlins Plaza.
Dance program
The festival's dance program featured one of the world's foremost ballerinas, Sylvie Guillem, in collaboration with London choreographer Akram Khan in Sacred Monsters; 2007 MacArthur "Genius" Award winner Shen Wei's landmark double bill of The Rite of Spring and Folding, which mixed Asian traditions and American experimentation; circus skills of somersaulting, contorting and balancing in Les 7 Doigts de la Main's show Traces; Finnish modern-dance choreographer Tero Saarinen's production Borrowed Light, which evoked the religious ecstasy of Shaker worship; and Michael Keegan-Dolan's controversial interpretation of classical ballet Giselle set to Slovak folk dancing and Texas two-step, and definitely no tutus or pointe shoes.
Writers and Readers Week
The festival's Readers and Writers Week took place from March 11 to 16.
While centred in The Embassy Theatre, parts of the 2008 program took place at Downstage Theatre, St James Theatre and the Michael Fowler Centre.
Program details
Festival events, including venue locations, program details and booking information, were available on the Internet. Tickets could be booked online.
