Eyes will be on the sky in the Octagon tonight when the
Dunedin Fringe Festival is launched from above.
Aerial performer Rochelle Brophy and her troupe will open the
2013 festival with a silk performance suspended 9m from a
crane above the Octagon chessboard.
''I'm a bit nervous about the weather, because it's hard if
it's windy,'' Brophy said yesterday.
''There's a physical distance between you and the audience
with aerial performance. You're still reacting with the
audience, but it's completely different up there. It's
nice.''
The five mysterious shipping containers which appeared in the
centre of town this week will also spill their secrets.
They contain installations by the Dunedin School of Art, Blue
Oyster Gallery and University of Otago design school and
dance studies students.
''The dance studies work, 'Dance Box', will be on in the
Octagon just after 5pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday both
weeks of the fringe. They've had to be very imaginative to
create a variety of new dance pieces in such a restricted
space,'' festival director Paul Smith said.
''Many of the other artists will be doing cameos of their
performances, so people can get a sneak preview of the
shows.''
The launch will also feature live music and a night market,
where artists will sell their wares. The 2013 Dunedin Fringe
Festival will be launched at 8pm today in the lower Octagon.
The festival starts tomorrow and runs until March 24.
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