{"id":8185,"date":"2014-10-16T13:51:24","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T12:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=8185"},"modified":"2014-10-16T13:51:24","modified_gmt":"2014-10-16T12:51:24","slug":"festival-warms-up-for-city-wide-cultural-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2014\/10\/festival-warms-up-for-city-wide-cultural-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"FESTIVAL WARMS UP FOR CITY-WIDE CULTURAL CELEBRATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

110 Events, 26 Premieres, 18 Countries, 17 Days – One World Class Festival<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Festival warms up for city-wide cultural celebration. Pictured are singers Deirdre Conlon and Claire Megoran with members of the Sing For Life Choir, Crescent Arts Centre, who will be taking part in the Big Big Sing event at Whitla Hall on 25th October, just one of 110 events which make up the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s which opened yesterday, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The Festival continues until 1 November with performers from 18 different countries and 26 premieres, covering classical and contemporary music, film, dance, theatre, talks and visual arts. Visit www.belfastfestival.com for tickets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the 2014 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s prepares to open the doors to a 17 day, city-wide, celebration of arts and culture Director Richard Wakely warmed up with a host of voices preparing for The Big Big Sing<\/strong> – just one of the 110 events from 18 countries that will be filling venues all over the city of Belfast as part of this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

With a total of 26 Premi\u00e8res, the Festival officially commences tonight (16th<\/sup> October) with the Ulster Orchestra Opening Concert featuring Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov and the Orchestra\u2019s Principal Guest Conductor, Jac Van Steen.\u00a0 Artist in Residence<\/strong> Claire Cunningham\u00a0 – who brings her show Guide Gods<\/strong> to Belfast for its Irish Premi\u00e8re –\u00a0 will join Europe\u2019s top theatre directors and internationally acclaimed artists from the worlds of dance, film, theatre and music as the 2014 Festival strives to push boundaries, deliver diversity and encourage debate.<\/p>\n

As an international Festival accredited with contributing \u00a32million to the local economy and supporting over 300 full-time jobs the impact of the next 17 days is important for the city, Director of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s, Richard Wakely commented, \u201cWe look forward to welcoming NI audiences and visitors to the fantastic range of performances we have to offer over the next 17 days.\u00a0 We are delivering internationally acclaimed pieces of work to this city which otherwise would not be available and with 88% of our shows under \u00a315, including 23 free shows, I would encourage audiences to try something new!\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2014 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival will welcome two of the world\u2019s leading theatre directors to Belfast – Peter Brook and Thomas Ostermeier – plus a host of leading ladies in Theatre, Dance and Music including four-time Grammy Award winning Jazz Vocalist Dianne Reeves, the legendary Bettye LaVette, celebrated actress, Charlotte Rampling and two-time Princess Grace Award winning choreographer Camille A. Brown – to name a few.<\/p>\n

Ellvena Graham, Head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland, said: \u201cTo have a world class event such as the Belfast Festival on our doorstep is a unique opportunity. We\u2019ve been a proud supporter for many years and it continues to develop and flourish. It gives audiences the chance to experience something new and different. As title sponsor we\u2019re very proud to be welcoming these fantastic international acts.\u00a0 Over the next 17 days I know we\u2019ll see many people take the opportunity to see some truly\u00a0exciting and engaging performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s hot tickets include the European Premi\u00e8re of Camille A Brown\u2019s theatrical and gutsy African-American dance performance Mr TOL.E.RAncE; the UK and Irish Premi\u00e8re of The Night Dances featuring Charlotte Rampling; the Irish Premi\u00e8re of the world\u2019s most celebrated Flamenco dancer Israel Galv\u00e1n;<\/strong> prestigious German Theatre Company Schaub\u00fchne Berlin presenting the Irish Premi\u00e8re of the controversial production An Enemy of the People; the Northern Irish Premi\u00e8re of The Suit – a moving story of adultery during apartheid from Director Peter Brook and his company Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Des Bouffes Du Nord and the Northern Irish Premi\u00e8re of Hannavas –\u00a0 a free family event which will see the African Savannah come to Belfast city centre.<\/p>\n

Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, stated, \u201cThe Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s allows our local audiences to experience arts and culture that would otherwise not be available and it is vital for all our communities to have access to these experiences. We work hard, in partnership with the Festival, to ensure that we open the door to the arts and this year\u2019s programme will definitely bring new experiences within the reach of everyone.\u201d Alongside international artists the Festival will showcase the very best local talent with World Premi\u00e8res from our leading local theatre and dance companies. In addition, one of the key elements of this year\u2019s programme is the new EMBRACE initiative supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland which will bring audiences \u2018up close\u2019 to world class artists in a series of masterclasses, workshops and talks.<\/p>\n

Alongside international artists the Festival will showcase the very best local talent with World Premieres from our leading local theatre and dance companies. In addition, one of the key elements of this year\u2019s programme is the new EMBRACE initiative supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland which will bring audiences \u2018up close\u2019 to world class artists in a series of masterclasses, workshops and talks.<\/p>\n

Susie McCullough, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, \u201cThis international festival is a vital part of the creative heartbeat of the city and one that positions Belfast and Northern Ireland as a serious cultural hub within a European context. Visitors come from all over the world to enjoy the Belfast Festival and in doing so provide a great boost for our tourism industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s would not be possible without the support of sponsors and public sector funders including Title Sponsor, Ulster Bank, Principal Funder, Arts Council\u00a0of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Queen\u2019s University, Belfast City Council, British Council, O2 International Sim, Belfast Harbour, Arts & Business NI, Visit Belfast and the Department for Social Development, plus, the many venues, performers and partner organisations whose commitment and passion bring the arts to life for all to enjoy.<\/p>\n

The 2014 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s runs from 16th October – 1st November in venues all over Belfast, for more information and to book tickets \u2018Check In\u2019 to www.belfastfestival.com. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

110 Events, 26 Premieres, 18 Countries, 17 Days – One World Class Festival As the 2014 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen\u2019s prepares to open the doors to a 17 day, city-wide, celebration of arts and culture Director Richard Wakely warmed up with a host of voices preparing for The Big Big Sing – just … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8187,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8185\/revisions\/8187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}