Chinese Scholars Garden, 
Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival

Saturday 18 February 2012 10.30am and 5:30pm
Sunday 19 February 2012 10.30am and 5:30pm
Monday 20 February 2012 7:00pm

Whispering Birds is a season of five free public performances offered as part of the February 2012 Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. As a site-specific dance season, Whispering Birds has been created for the Chinese Scholars Garden by local choreographer Dr Karen Barbour. Audience members of all ages will enjoy the performance as they move through the garden on a journey of discovery. Following the winding path, they will encounter surprising and luscious moments of dance that will spark their imaginations. Inspirations from Chinese garden design and elements of mystery and fantasy along with poetry and philosophy will inform the choreography.

Guest artist Chen Xiyao will perform contemporary music live on the Chinese gu-zheng instrument to compliment the dance and garden. See the following webpage for further information about Chen Xiyao: 
http://www.newzealandpostgraduate.com/inspiration/stories/the-sound-of-history/

Whispering Birds will be danced by experienced contemporary dancers used to the unique challenges for performing in unusual sites. The performers are Patti Mitchley, Marie Hermo Jensen, Alex Hitchmough, Claire Gray, Olivia Buchanan, Karen Barbour and Xiyao Chen. Whispering Birds is presented by Waikato Contemporary Dance Projects Trust (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waikato-Contemporary-Dance-Projects-Trust/261619093850317) and is the sixth site-specific contemporary dance work Karen Barbour has had programmed in this festival.

Dance costumes will be created by experienced local designer Kartika Leng, to compliment the elements of the garden and relevant themes. Props will be used to enhance the visual impact for viewers. 
FREE admission and suitable for all ages. Please meet at the entrance to the Chinese Scholars Garden at least 5 minutes prior to the start time. Numbers are limited within the garden and access is limited.
With thanks to: Creative Hamilton, The Lion Foundation, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts and Nimbus Multimedia.

Official festival webpage: www.hamiltongardensartsfestival.co.nz

Marie Hermo Jensen will be showing her new work ‘Unravel’ alongside choreographies of Dr. Karen Barbour and Debbie Bright. ‘Unravel’ reflects on loss and the process of grief.

WHEN
Friday 16 Sept at 1pm & 8pm
Saturday 17 Sept at 8pm

VENUE:
Playhouse Theatre
The Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts
University of Waikato
Gate 2B, Knighton Road, Hillcrest, Hamilton

TICKETS:
$15 student and concession
$18 adult

Photo: Hannah May

Presented by: Waikato Contemporary Dance Projects Trust

Proudly supported by:
The University of Waikato’s Cultural Committee
The Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts
Hamilton Community Arts Council (Creative Communities Funding Scheme)

St. Peter's School Expressions Dance Group
Being performed at St. Peter's Dance Showcase on the 27th of September 2011.

Read more here.

.cyclic. (work-in-progress)

‘Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.’ - Seneca

Performance: 
Conservatorim of Music presents
Artz Electro 
27th of May 2011, 7.30pm
WEL Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts http://www.waikato.ac.nz/academy/homepage.shtml
Adults $10, Students $5 on entry

Photo: Simon Laing

The concepts behind this piece originated in research conducted as part of the Summer Scholarship Programme by Simon Laing, Doris Jung, Nicola Tims, Andreas Löf, Paul Hunkin and Marie Hermo Jensen. The research was to investigate dance-driven 3-D camera interaction to be used as a tool for the creation of a holistic piece of art for an enriched performance experience. This performance uses the commercially available Kinect camera (Microsoft). The Kinect camera features two cameras in a single housing: a VGA 640x480 pixel colour camera and an infrared system producing a 640x480 depth image.

This piece explores the ideas of creation within a cyclic system, from birth to death to re-birth. The collaboration between the different media expands beyond research and the creative process into the performance, where the dancer influences both the sound you hear and the images you see in real time.

Credits:
Dancer/Choreographer: Marie Hermo Jensen (stellaris dance nz)
Soundscape: Jeremy Mayall
Co-ordinators: Doris Jung, Simon Laing
Graphics Team: Simon Laing, Ime Botes, Emma Martin
Assistants: Doris Jung, Dacre Denny, Paul Hunkin, Andreas Löf, Nicola Tims

Contemporary Dance Classes presented by Waikato Contemporary Dance Projects Trust are back on Tuesday nights 7.30 - 9.00pm, 17th of May - 28th of June 2011.

WHAT
Come along to enhance body awareness, functional alignment and safe dance practice. Learn about contemporary dance and have some fun. All levels of experience welcome.

WHERE
Mirror Room
School of Education Tower Block
Gate 4 Hillcrest Road
University of Waikato

7 classes in total: Full term: $90 Casual: $15
Cash preferable. Cheques made out to ´Waikato Contemporary Dance Projects Trust´. No credit cards please.



We only run classes if we have enough people signing up for the full term.
By committing to coming to class every week your attendance tends to be higher, and you will progress in your dancing a lot faster. It also saves you a little money, as it is costs more to attend as a casual.

For enquiries, or to sign up email: marie@stellarisdance.co.nz. Please let me know if you want to sign up for the full term, or whether you want to be a casual. Registration closes on the 13th of May. Payment due at first class.

Remember to wear comfortable clothing. No tights with feet please, as we quite often dance bare feet (so you should be able to remove any socks etc.). Also bring some water to keep you hydrated.

Please forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested.
Please note that I will not be available on my mobile until the 15th of May.