Arts Festival Family - with NZ's first Thriller Flash Mob

Aotearoa's first THRILLER HAKA FLASH MOB - Auckland Arts Festival Family Day, 3pm Sunday 24 March

The Auckland Arts Festival 2013 calls all families, kids, mums and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and babysitters to help close the city’s biggest Festival yet with a mass dance event in Aotea Square. This Sunday 24 March – Family Day – at 3pm sharp, everyone is invited to take part in New Zealand’s first Thriller Haka FLASHMOB (which we’re calling “Boy-E”).

Atamira Dance Company will be teaching anyone interested in being involved the world-famous Thriller Haka from the movie Boy in workshops taking place on site at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm.

Keen beans can even learn the famous dance at home, before Sunday, by watching the instructional video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiGS2ThLcEs&list=UUSTaFmE497qXMafCJPYl6Dw and demonstration video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVE8t23PeqQ&list=UUSTaFmE497qXMafCJPYl6Dw&index=8

Then, at 3pm, New Zealand’s first-ever Boy-E Flash Mob will take place before a gathered crowd…

MEDIA RELEASE
31 October, 2012
FAMILY DAY / WHĀNAU WHĀNUI

Sunday 24 March, 2013
Aotea Square, Auckland

FREE AND TICKETED EVENTS, ALL WELCOME

Nau mai, haere mai! The Auckland Arts Festival 2013 calls all families, kids, mums, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and babysitters to come on down and celebrate the arts in Aotea Square for Family Day on Sunday 24 March. Between 10am-4pm, Family Day attendees are invited to pick up an instrument, chortle at a clown, watch a performance or a fascinating tā moko session, or get involved in New Zealand’s first en masse Thriller Haka. One and all are invited to mosey to Aotea Square, bring a picnic, get involved or sit back with the crowd but, most importantly, try something new.

Auckland Arts Festival 2013 Family Day highlights include:

Boy E Flash Mob and Workshops
Atamira Dance Company will be teaching anyone interested in being involved in a flash mob to do the Thriller haka from the movie Boy. In workshops at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm, participants can bring their own poi or make one. Keen beans can choose to learn the haka at home, prior to Family Day, using an Auckland Arts Festival 2013 web link (to be made available closer to the time). At 3pm, New Zealand’s first-ever Boy E Flash Mob will take place before a gathered crowd.

Fly Me Up to Where You Are
Dream Flag Making Workshop with Tiffany Singh
Presented as part of the Auckland Arts Festival-commissioned project Fly Me Up To Where You Are by New Zealand artist Tiffany Singh, members of the public are invited to take part in a workshop to create Tibetan-style flags that express their own hopes, dreams and visions for the future.

Tā moko session with Derek Lardelli
Tā moko are representations of bloodlines etched onto the skin. Stories of genealogy, history and ancestors are crafted specifically for the person who wears tā moko. Derek Lardelli is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest tā moko artists, and he takes up temporary residence in the Aotea Centre for a rare live tā moko session, bringing his studio to the people. Watch the artists at work, ask questions and learn about this spiritually significant, uniquely Māori and beautiful art form. Temporary body adornments, called kirituhi, will be available on the day.

Clowning with Fraser Hooper
Internationally acclaimed clown Fraser Hooper is renowned for his “perfect comic timing” (Sunday Mail, Australia). Fraser’s acts combine mime, comedy, juggling and eccentric dance. At the Auckland Arts Festival, he will present three hilarious shows at 10.30am, 12pm and 3.30pm in Aotea Square. Then,

anyone who wants to have a go can learn about timing, style and comic routines in Fraser’s Family Clown Workshop in the Aotea Centre at 1.30pm.

Orchestra Zoo presented by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO)
Music lovers young and old are invited to get up close with members of the APO and their instruments. Pluck a viola string, blow on a trumpet or bang a drum! From 11am or 2pm, aspiring musicians can discover how different notes are produced and ask the musicians all about their work.

There will also be many activities that take place in the Festival Club and Garden on Family Day, as well as the following ticketed shows (see individual press releases for further details):

The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk
Catherine Wheels (Scotland)
10.30am and 12.30pm, Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall

Leo
Circle of Eleven (Germany)
4pm, Maidment Theatre, Auckland University
www.aaf.co.nz

ENDS

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