Prepare to be swept up in the very best music, dance, theatre, art and endless entertainment as Australia’s largest festival celebrating Asia has kicked off, continuing to Sunday 11 November 2018.
Featuring five world premieres, 20 Australian premieres and 22 events exclusive to South Australia, the 12th annual OzAsia Festival will present work from 817 artists and 20 countries. With more than 400 activities, including more than 250 scheduled performances, 55 talk events, 34 film screenings, eight exhibitions and 66 workshops, this year’s program is the most exciting and extensive yet.
“OzAsia Festival is Australia’s leading international arts festival engaging with Asia,” says OzAsia Festival Artistic Director Joseph Mitchell. “Audiences will experience some of the most exciting contemporary performance offerings from across the region. There is something for everyone in our largest festival program to date.”
Festival highlights include award winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s iconic acrobatic masterpiece Sutra – featuring a troupe of 19 Shaolin Monks; legendary Chinese playwright and director Stan Lai’s beloved modern classic Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land; and internationally acclaimed Syrian production While I Was Waiting.
Prolific Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn brings glitter balls, grooves and grandmothers to Adelaide, transforming the Dunstan Playhouse stage into a giant dance floor with the Australian premiere of international hit Dancing Grandmothers.
In another Australian premiere, War Sum Up leaps into 21st century opera with an innovative production inspired by Japanese expressions of poetry, pop, precision and brutality from Monday 5 – Tuesday 6 November.
Festival favourite the Moon Lantern Parade is back bigger and better this year, taking over Elder Park with an explosion of colour and lights (today) Saturday 27 October from 3pm to 9pm. With the largest venue capacity to date and 23 brand new lanterns, festival goers will have more vantage points to view the parade than ever before.
Forging stronger links between the Australian and Southeast Asian arts and cultural sectors, OzAsia Festival will also host the Borak Arts Series from 1 – 3 November. The major annual arts conference for Southeast Asia will feature a program of keynote speakers, panels, networking events and performance showcases.
In a massive coup for Adelaide, OzAsia Festival builds to a spectacular final weekend with the Jaipur Literature Festival showcasing the artistic and literary heritage of South Asia and the world from 9 – 11 November.
The 12th OzAsia Festival continues until 11 November. For more information and full program, visit: www.ozasiafestival.com.au for details.
Image: Dancing Grandmothers (supplied)