The 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival

Heart-stopping dance from the UK’s most exciting new choreographer; a brand-new, New Zealand opera; vintage circus with a twist and a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

The New Zealand International Arts Festival brings all this and more to Wellington in 2012.

“After months of planning it is great to be able to announce these four very special arts events,” says Festival Director Lissa Twomey. “They are a tantalising glimpse of the sheer diversity of performances and performers in the 2012 Festival programme.”

The Season Ticket announcement gives a sneak preview of the international and New Zealand acts set to enliven Wellington from 24 February to 18 March 2012. A Season Ticket is a pre-paid pass available for purchase now, giving great savings and the opportunity for priority booking for Festival events when they go on sale in November.

Since he exploded onto the dance scene in 2007, Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter has attracted universal critical praise. He brings his stunning young company and acclaimed new work, Political Mother, to Wellington, complete with live band.

The New Zealand International Arts Festival, in partnership with NBR New Zealand Opera, presents Hōhepa, a new opera based on the true story of Māori chief Hōhepa Te Umuroa, imprisoned in Tasmania in the 1840s. Written and composed by Jenny McLeod, Hōhepa features a dazzling cast, including Phillip Rhodes and Jonathan Lemalu.

Enter the nostalgic Big Top on Wellington’s Waterfront and let three generations of Belgium’s Ronaldo family entertain you. Circenses offers all the charm of the circus, with a contemporary theatrical twist.

Thomas L Friedman, foreign-affairs columnist for The New York Times and three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will be a keynote speaker at the Festival’s Writers and Readers Week, from 9-14 March. Best-selling author Friedman is one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals. His book on globalisation, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, has sold more than four million copies.

Friends memberships are also available for purchase now. Friends of the Festival gain benefits including a special reduced Friends’ price for tickets to most Festival events. Season Tickets and Friends of the Festival memberships can be purchased online at www.festival.co.nz or at Ticketek.

The full Festival programme will be announced on 2 November 2011. The Festival is proudly supported by our Gold Partners, TV3, NZ Post and i-SITE and our Core Funders, Absolutely Positively Wellington and Creative New Zealand.

Festival Facts: Celebrating the world’s best in Aotearoa
• The biennial New Zealand International Arts Festival is New Zealand’s largest cultural event. The Festival has been connecting audiences and artists for 26 years.
• In 2010, the Festival attracted more than 1000 artists from 35 countries.
• In 2010, 290,000 people attended more than 300 Festival events.
• The Festival is committed to supporting New Zealand artists and has commissioned and produced more than 95 new New Zealand plays, operas, music and other events.
• This is Artistic Director Lissa Twomey’s third Festival.
• The Festival Chairperson is Kerry Prendergast.

ENDS

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