An aerial spectacular that will take your breath away

An ethereal landscape is conjured in a unique performance of silhouetted movement and enveloping sound in one of the first shows of the Auckland Arts Festival.

Celebrating female strength and agility, the performers inhabit an aerial world. Photo / Alex Burton

The all-female cast in “Belle: A Performance of Air” combine skills from aerial acrobatics, dance and theatre against a backdrop of spectacular lighting and a specially composed soundscape.

The production is from Movement Of The Human (Moth) an arts organisation specialising in movement design, experiential and live performance that was first performed at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington premiering in 2024.

Malia Johnston, whose CV includes World of Wearable Arts and the opening of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, leads the collaborations with music composed by Ed Mulholland and performed by Anita Clark on violin and vocals, choreography and bespoke circus apparatus designed by Jenny Ritchie and Rowan Pierce creating an illusory backdrop where walls melt away and smoke particles carry light.

The worlds of dance, acrobatics, sound and lighting collide in a performance that will take your breath away. Photo / Alex Burton

Belle celebrates female strength and agility with the performers inhabiting an aerial world, described as a meditation of the cosmos in choreographic form. The choreography was designed with the aerial artists and dancers aiming to connect the audience on an energetic level, igniting imaginations towards what lies beyond and the sense of possibility.

The captivating performance will render you speechless in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, but you won’t stop talking about it after you leave.

Belle: A Performance of Air is on at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre for five shows from tonight. Tickets available through Ticketmaster.

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