16 August 2000

 School Children Rehearse At Airport

Footsteps, the performing arts group of Breens Intermediate School, will stage a live rehearsal for a cultural festival at the Christchurch International Airport on Friday 18 August at 2pm and 3pm.

Footsteps will be performing at the Christchurch Primary Schools’ Cultural Festival later this month.
The multi-cultural festival will feature about 1500 children in performance and visual arts.
The costumes to be used by Footsteps will be life-sized birds and creatures a three-dimensional backdrop of the Southern Alps.
Passengers on flights from Sydney and Melbourne will be treated to a slice of "Kiwi culture" with more than 100 children performing.
The festival will run from Monday 21 to Thursday 24 August at the Christchurch Town Hall. Nearly 30 Canterbury schools are now in rehearsal.

 Art exhibition
A highlight of the festival will be the inaugural Visual Art Exhibition that will feature works by primary school children for the Mahi Toi Tamariki city-wide exhibition. These works of art, some up to 5m in length, are impressive portrayals of Maori myths and legends. Tukutuku weaving, tradition Maori tattoos, carving and graffiti will feature in the three-dimensional pieces.

Performances
Schools taking part in the performance section of the festival will have participants numbering from 15 to more than 100. Addington Primary School will have two groups totalling 169, including some children from the school’s disabled unit and the Somali community.

Feature
A feature will be a guest performance by Nga Tai E Rua Culture Group with the poi, haka rakau and action songs. This group has performed around the country and recently appeared in Hawaii. The group of 60 is mostly young Christchurch young people.

 Further information: Ali Nauman: Event Co-ordinator: 025 213 2201 or 021 1330 768 or the Christchurch City Council Community Relations Unit: 941 8962.