MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release
Blingling Brothers the Kings of the Carnies!
The New Zealand Development Cooperative with support from FUSE Circus & Footnote Dance presents:
THE GOLDEN CARNIE AWARDS
Celebrating Circus Excellence in Aotearoa
Close to 800 people witnessed West Auckland’s The Blingling Brothers earn the 2013 Overall Grand Winner as The Golden Carnie Awards rolled into Wellington on Saturday evening.
“The Golden Carnies provided for us what is our career highlight to date,” Paul Klaassen from The Blingling Brothers
spoke after the win, “and a tangible validation for a lot of years of hard work. I can't tell you how much that meant
and will continue to mean to us for the rest of our lives."
The audience at the Opera House were promised a night of incredible performances from some of the leading lights of NZ
Circus, and they weren’t disappointed: an incredible array of performances from the finalists including The Blingling
Brothers, Mim Conyers, Tanya Drewery, Eve Gordon, Sam and Madeleine Coad and Aaron Burr.
Even MC, Shay Horay, tried his hand at some circus skills – flying on a unicycle to start the adult section. He later embodied “The Golden
Carnie” by leading the Opera House in a close Harlem Shake, dressed in a gold onesie. Flanked by Footnote Dance, the group dressed as clowns and made sure the show ran effortlessly smooth throughout the night; it was just one of
the incredible sights to behold throughout the evening.
Director of The Golden Carnie Awards Tom Beauchamp revealed his joy with just how well the inaugural event captivated
The Opera House crowd; “The space between the stage and the audience was totally electric and it was a night that will
go down in (circus) History!”
“It was absolutely magic and made every one's work so worthwhile” Beauchamp continued. “It was a true display of the
talent that exists in New Zealand.”
Your 2013 Golden Carnie Award Winners are as follows:
2013 Overall Winner: The Blingling Brothers
Audience Choice Award: Aaron Burr
Ground Based Award: Mim Conyers
(1st runner up: Zach Washer. 2nd runner up: Nick Steward)
Arial Award: Aaron Burr
(1st runner up: Tanya Drewery. 2nd runner up: Eve Gordon)
Youth Section: Sam Coad and Lucy Egan
(1st runner up: Lisa Komatsubara. 2nd runner up: Emily Gare)
ENDS