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| GDIF 2004 Programme | |||||||||||
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The Wisdom of Africa
FREE
The Grass Turns Green
FREE Coinciding with “The Wisdom of Africa” weekend, this inspirational outdoor performance unites acapella song and multi-media projections to mark the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Created by the Johannesburg-based Thesele music-theatre ensemble, the performance draws on Nelson Mandela’s passionate and lyrical oratory to deliver an emotionally charged hymn of renewal and hope. RESERVE A TICKET! Limited capacity per performance. If you would like to reserve a free ticket Email: tickets@festival.org providing your name, address, number of places required for a specific performance and we will reserve a place for you. Paper tickets not required as details will be held at the door.
These rare London performances of traditional Vietnamese water puppetry will bring this exquisite South East Asian artform to Greenwich. Presented from a richly designed theatre tank, the water animates the puppets and makes them appear almost lifelike while naval battles and fire-breathing dragons turn this intimate artform into a truly spectacular one. Unfortunately all performances now fully booked, including the extra performance on Friday 16th July.
Dancing City
FREE For the last two years the Festival has brought the very best of outdoor contemporary dance to Canary Wharf and 2004 offers more al fresco dance surprises. Axial’s intriguing choreography takes place in a plastic bubble. An astonishing newly commissioned Bollywood extravaganza from Simmy Gupta will unleash fountain and cascading water effects down a flight of stairs and performances by the Hip Hop Collective and a new commission from United Dance Artists offers urban and contemporary fusions of dance and architecture.
Mirando Al Cielo
FREE
Take your seat under a transparent stage for a vision like no other combining ravishing dance overhead and dizzying perspectives on Canary Wharf’s towering architecture. One of this year’s “must sees”, Spanish group Producciones Imperdibles present 7 minute performances of extraordinary beauty designed for audiences on recumbent seating. An unforgettable experience whether you decide to watch from below or “in the round”. (Tickets may only be booked on the day from
one hour prior to the first performance. All performances in Montgomery
Square).
Monsoon Mela
FREE This all-encompassing event will evoke the energy of a breaking Monsoon. Three Mills will be transformed with ritual performance, dazzling aerial choreography, breathtaking waterscreen projections and a live DJ set from cultural pioneer Nitin Sawhney. GDIF is well known for creating extraordinary spectacle
at Three Mills. Last year’s finale “Raastay” combined
original music, narrative and breathtaking “sky paintings”.
This year, an extraordinary creative team including choreographer
Simmy Gupta, acclaimed installation and performance artists
Red Earth, cutting edge musician Nitin Sawhney and The World Famous
will conjure up an exhilarating and unforgettable occasion. Supernova
FREE
The awesome expanses of the Royal Albert Dock will provide the setting for this visual spectacle on water from Walk the Plank, one of the UK’s leading creators of outdoor theatre and pyrotechnics. Last seen in the Royal Docks in 2000 with their breathtaking fire show “The Tower of Light”, this year Walk the Plank return with science fiction and special effects. Imagining that three aliens from another world have arrived
in East London, “Supernova” voices universal experiences
of home, migration and family. Combining inventive sculptural
imagery, video projections, fireworks and performance poetry
from Lemn Sissay, the story begins with three gigantic floating
beings who drop down to earth from the sky above… Festival Finale
FREE
Gaze up in awe as extravagantly plumaged birds take to
the skies of East London! Following the success last summer
of Compagnie Off’s herd of crimson Giraffes who paraded
through Mile End Park, this year Plasticiens Volants will retell
the Sufi poem “The Conference of the Birds” and how birds from
across the world once undertook a journey in search of their king
– the “Simurgh”. This epic and arduous flight will be recreated with
giant inflatables, shadow screen projections, original music and special
effects, bringing this year’s GDIF to a breathtaking climax. "Brilliant, it was so different. I am speechless really…"
Giraffes 2003 audience member |
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