Shaping up to be an incredible night out

Life has been "pretty crazy" for singer and Christchurch earthquake refugee Dayna Sanerivi recently, but that did not stop her from auditioning yesterday for the Otago Daily Times "Big Night In" celebrations.

Ms Sanerivi, who left her home in Lyttelton for Dunedin earlier this year, was one of about 80 people to audition during three days at the University of Otago's union hall.

The former Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology jazz school student and her son Fabian (12) were adjusting to their new lives, she said.

She auditioned for the celebratory show as it would be a good experience.

"I've not done anything like that before."

It was only her second audition and she admitted to being quite nervous but despite that Fabian said her singing was "great".

For artistic director Doug Kamo and musical director Stuart Walker, the auditions had opened their eyes to the depth of talent in the city.

"The unexpected talent has been great. Yesterday we had 20 dancers and we only need up to 10, but realistically we could have used 18 of them. The calibre was really high."

Every genre was represented, from rock and pop to country and even opera. Most were unknowns in the Dunedin music scene.

"It will be great to have fresh faces and new people for the concert. People will no doubt be surprised by it," Mr Kamo said.

The pair would spend the next few weeks selecting performers and shaping the content around that talent. It would bring Dunedin in line with other main centres - having a community concert on a scale to compare with other centres.

- rebecca.fox@odt.co.nz