The Perth International Arts Festival

The Perth International Arts Festival

Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) in Australia is the arts festival, introduced by The Director of Adult Education, Fred Alexander in 1953 at the University of Western Australia. He was inspired by Edinburgh Festival in 1951. This event formerly known as the Festival of Perth runs mostly in February and entails the cultural fields of music, dance, theatre, and film. It attracts some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment and culture and simultaneously provides a platform for local companies to showcase their creativity. Perth has been the traditional venue for this festival but recently it has expanded its purview and now it includes also the regional areas with the Mandurah International Opera Festival. The first international dance performance was by a Manipuri troupe in 1957. The early years of introduction also saw performances by Dances of Singapore, National Ballet of Senegal and the Kala kshetra Dancers from Madras, India. For 20 years they hosted an annual Ballroom Dance Pageant and the Australian companies featuring in this fest are The Australian Ballet debuting with Melbourne Cup, and Lady and the Fool.

The Australian audience in 1970 witnessed the Australian Contemporary Dance Company performed on Beth Dean's choreography and in 1981, Maina Gielgud's Steps, Notes and Squeaks was performed by Australian Dance Theater. The 1987 Festival focused primarily on dance due to the establishment of the Quarry Amphitheatre and it featured five international companies like, Limbs, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Phoenix, Desrosiers Dance Theatre and Trisha Brown Dance Company. The other contemporary dance companies from interstate touring to Perth are Meryl Tankard Company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, and Chunky Move. The international collaborations commissioned by this festival are between, Mallika Sarabhai and West Australian composers Roger Smalley, Cathie Travers and David Pye, partnership between Montreal's Jean-Pierre Perreault and Perth's Chrissie Parrot Dance Company.

Recently the audiences experienced the works of internationally renowned choreographers like Jiri Kylian and the Netherlands Dance Theatre, and Mats Ek's production of Swan Lake for Cullberg Ballet. Other international dance artists appearing at the Festival include Garth Fagan Dance Company, Robert Kovich Company, Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theatre, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Rosas Dance Company, Lyon Opera Ballet, Compagnie Boris Charmatz, and Black Grace Dance Company. Dance and culture enhancements have been focused upon through the exposure to these national and international artists. The West Australian Ballet Company made its Festival debut in 1954 and has been a regular feature. Early Festival commissions feature Woman of Andros, Tancredi and Clorinda and Ray Powell's production. The Chrissie Parrot Dance Company being a regular contributor has performed Mirror Coda, and Off the Wall while other local companies featuring in this festival are Youth Arts Incorporated with Scapes, and Buzz Dance Theatre with Snaphappy. Finally the directors involved in setting up this whole institution are John Birman, David Blenkinsop, Sean Doran, and Lindy Hume. Lastly since1992 Lotterywest is known to have financially supported the festival.

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