Feature Stories
Welcome Cultural Olympiad 2009!
Oct 31, 2008
From digital graffiti in unexpected outdoor places to flamenco dance, traditional Japanese puppetry to Canadian ice carvers, the world’s best are coming to play at Cultural Olympiad 2009.
The complete 2009 program was announced on October 28, 2008 at an event that melded press conference with performance. Aeriosa Dance mesmerized audiences with their gravity-defying aerial choreography, while RedShift Music brought music to new heights with its performance in VANOC’s multi-level atrium.
Running from February 1 to March 21, 2009, Cultural Olympiad 2009 captures the vitality and breadth of Canada’s creative community. More than 400 performances and exhibitions spanning music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, outdoor spectaculars and digital media experiences will be held in venues throughout Greater Vancouver and the Sea to Sky corridor. This year’s festival also extends the celebration across Canada with the National Presentation and Touring Program, and into the digital sphere with CODE — the new Cultural Olympiad’s digital program. Take a look at the complete program for complete details about the festival’s 100+ projects.
One of the highlights of the 2009 festival is bound to be the One-Year Countdown Celebration to the 2010 Winter Games on February 12 at 7:30 pm at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, featuring an all-star Canadian line-up headlined by the extraordinary singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. The stellar program also features Halifax singer-songwriter Joel Plaskett; dynamic young Canadian violinist Adrian Anantawan; and the Alberta Ballet’s performance of If — an excerpt from the 2007 ballet The Fiddle and Drum by Joni Mitchell and choreographer Jean Grand-Maître.
Two of the country’s hottest bands — Toronto’s Broken Social Scene and Calgary’s Tegan and Sara — are also on tap with a hot double bill at the Orpheum Theatre on February 6, 2009 at 8:00 pm.
Tickets for the One-Year Countdown Celebration and Broken Social Scene and Tegan and Sara go on sale Saturday, November 1, 2008 at vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad.
© 2009 The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Olympic and Paralympic Games photography © Getty Images, unless otherwise stated.
