Calgary's International Festival of the Arts
Curated by Michael Green
The High Performance Rodeo is an annual festival featuring theatre, dance, music and multimedia presentations. Curated by Co-artistic Director Michael Green and presented by One Yellow Rabbit, it is dedicated to entertaining as wide an audience as imaginable, while remaining fertile ground for the progressive and wild.
The High Performance Rodeo is the largest festival of its kind in Western Canada.
22ND ANNUAL HIGH PERFORMANCE RODEO RAISED JANUARY’S TEMPERATURE
Calgary, AB - One Yellow Rabbit celebrated another successful January when it wrapped up the 22nd annual High Performance Rodeo, Calgary's International Festival of the Arts, January 4th to 26th. More than 9,500 people answered festival Curator Michael Green's call to experience the progressive and wild by participating in the festival and enjoying some of the world's brightest and boldest performing and visual artists who descended on Calgary to help fuel the city's creative energy.
"One Yellow Rabbit is proud to have hosted such a fine roster of exceptional talent, from all over the world, and especially proud that so many Calgarians showed up to demonstrate their enthusiasm and hospitality. This year's success bodes well for future editions of the High Performance Rodeo," says Michael Green, Co-artistic director of One Yellow Rabbit.
One of One Yellow Rabbit's biggest and most successful Rodeo's to date, it couldn't have happened without the generous support of its many sponsors, staff, and hard-working volunteers. One Yellow Rabbit would also like to thank and acknowledge the media, whose coverage of this year's Festival was unparalleled.
Throughout the four-week Festival Calgarians attended more than 38 performances and 17 different productions created by artists from theatre, dance, music and the visual arts. This year's Rodeo saw great success with an increase in collaborations with other well-established arts groups such as Alberta Ballet, Honens, Calgary Opera, and the Banff Centre. The Rodeo was also proud to work with The GRAND this year to present shows in its venue for the first time.
One of this year's many highlights was the attendance and participation of Their Excellencies Governor General Michaëlle Jean and Jean-Daniel Lafond, Honourary Patron of the 2008 High Performance Rodeo. Their Excellencies enjoyed several performances including Kids in the Hall alum Kevin McDonald in Hammy & The Kids, and Tubular Bells presented by The Bergmann Piano Duo and Alberta Ballet. His Excellency also hosted Art Matters, a dynamic roundtable discussion on Art During Boom Time.
Other highlights of the festival included Sylvia Plath Must Not Die, a flagship creation by the One Yellow Rabbit Performing Ensemble, Constantinople featuring The Gryphon Trio, and East Village Opera Company.
This year’s Rodeo has established itself as Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts with participants from China, Japan, Netherlands and the United States. The Festival also featured many Canadian artists not only based in Calgary but also from the Yukon to Newfoundland.
One Yellow Rabbit is delighted and grateful to all of Calgary for its support and looks forward to seeing everyone next year at the 23rd annual High Performance Rodeo in January 2009.