What do you get if you cross Vegas-style magic, a dancing mouse, a ferocious dinosaur and a chart-topping film composer?
Arts Centre Melbourne’s summer season will be a celebration of fun and adventure with a host of dynamic performances from some of the world’s most thrilling artists from December 2013 to February 2014.
For the daredevil, The Illusionists will be the biggest and boldest magic show Melbourne has ever seen. A grand and spectacular celebration of the art of magic by twelve illusionists, the mind-blowing tricks will leave State Theatre audiences speechless from 3 – 12 January 2014.
Audiences will witness a nail-biting Russian roulette, jaw dropping acts of levitation, mind-reading, disappearance and escapes for Melbourne’s first comprehensive exploration of the genre of magic.
For the tiny dancer in us all, an all-singing, all-dancing musical theatre show, childrens book and television’s favourite mouse Angelina Ballerina will perform live in a brand new ‘Mousical’ at the State Theatre from 15 – 19 January 2014.
The national tour and Australian premiere of Angelina Ballerina The Mousical is based on the award-winning children’s book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig. This show will appeal to both ballet girls and hip hop boys, featuring not only ballet, but hip-hop, salsa, alternative and tap dancing too.
Described as America’s dancing daredevils, Diavolo Dance Theatre fly into town for a season from 5 – 9 February in the State Theatre.
Leaping from large set pieces with the grace of ballerinas and skateboarding across the stage like extreme sportsmen, this thrill-seeking company presents the double bill Architecture in Motion inspired by urban design and cityscapes.
For the romantics, the chart-topping composer behind music for Oscar-winning film Black Swan, Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar and box-office record breaker The Intouchables, Ludovico Einaudi, makes his Melbourne debut at Hamer Hall, Thursday 15 February 2014.
The concert will feature his latest album, In A Time Lapse amongst a hair-raising display of piano-bled ballads and euphoric film scores.
For the explorer in everyone, kids and families can get up-close and personal with a cast of Australian dinosaurs in Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo at Arts Centre Melbourne’s, Fairfax Studio from 7 – 19 January, 2014.
Featuring large-scale puppets, Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo is an interactive show where audiences can touch and play with the pre-historic dinosaur cast, including cute baby dinos and a teeth-gnashing Tyrannosaur.
For the stylish, the most show-stopping and glamorous examples of stage costume from Arts Centre Melbourne’s Performing Arts Collection will be showcased in All That Glitters, a new free exhibition in Gallery I from 16 November 2013 – 23 February 2014.
The exhibition, which features couture-standard costumes including costumes worn by Dame Edna Everage, Kylie Minogue and Dame Nellie Melba, elaborate costume jewellery, costume designs, photographs and behind the scenes footage, celebrates the vision, creativity and skill of those who created them and the show-stopping performances that brought them to life.
For the festive season, Arts Centre Melbourne’s lawn will be the site of a new Christmas installation Deck the Houses from 20 November 2013 – 5 January 2014.
Inspired by the twinkling, light-covered house that line Melbourne’s streets at Christmas time. Arts Centre Melbourne has commissioned renowned production designer and artist Christian Wagstaff to create Deck the Houses – a free pop-up artwork that promises to be a visually spectacular art installation featuring a metallic mirrored house frame, which will then be decorated with illuminating Christmas lighting concepts.
For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.
Image: Diavolo Dance Theater – photo by Kristie Kahns
