Being the centenary year of the WWI ANZAC landing at Gallipoli, The New Zealand Dance Company has teamed up with the New Zealand Army Band to tour the country with a unique show as a tribute to our ANZAC soldiers.
The show, entitled Rotunda, exhibits a beautiful collision of a live brass band with the raw power of contemporary dance, and the crowds have been loving it so far, with standing ovations at every performance at the Holland Dance Festival last year.
The 2015 tour kicked off in Tauranga on 13 March and upcoming performances include Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, before it concludes its Auckland season on Anzac Day, 25 April, at the Aotea Centre with North Shore Brass.
"Rotunda is a living memorial that celebrates the ANZAC spirit and the themes of courage, community and loss, and ultimately, a desire for peace," says the company's Artistic Director and Arts Laureate and WIFT member Shona McCullagh - last year's winner of the Arts Category at the Westpac and Fairfax Women of Influence Awards, and this year's winner of the Hynds Creative Entrepreneur 2015 Award. Check out Shona's profile on the WIFT homepage.
"The performers' journeys go to the heart of change and crisis, where compassion and kinship are illuminated by a haunting, humorous and deeply felt score."
To create the show, McCullagh teamed up with NZDC dancers and celebrated singer, songwriter and composer Don McGlashan as Musical Director, and brings to life the world of the band rotunda as an iconic symbol of New Zealand community.
After its NZ leg, Rotunda will tour Australia in April and May, stopping in Adelaide, Melbourne, Parramatta and Geelong.