Drums of Fire Light up of Auckland

Drums of Fire Light up Streets Of Auckland

In celebration of 2018 heralding the tenth Auckland Arts Festival, a special, free event will pulse through streets and alleyways of Auckland city in March.

Over four spectacular nights, Les Tambours de Feu/The Drums Of Fire will take over the streets and hypnotise crowds of all ages with fire play, staged pyrotechnics, dramatic costumes and special effects.

Deabru Beltsak, the Spanish Company behind Les Tambours de Feu/The Drums Of Fire, have been touring the street spectacle with huge success around the world. They became so famous in Mexico that, after only four performances, they had to get security to leave their hotel!

This series of vibrant street performances descend from two prominent 17th century Spanish celebrations.

Deabru Beltsak hail from Basque where there is a long held tradition called the 'day of the witch'; a ritual commemorating the martyrdom of the village's witches during which villagers light bonfires in local caves.

Combining this Basquian tradition with the Catalan festival of correfoc – the ‘fire runs’ – Deabru Beltsak orchestrated an annual cave performance for ten years. It became so popular that the size of the crowds became too big for the caves, so the company took elements of the show and turned it into a street spectacle, which has been touring ever since.

Auckland Arts Festival’s new Artistic Director Jonathan Bielski envisioned that the celebration of the 10th Auckland Arts Festival would be a specular free event for the public.

He says, “The Drums of Fire has had huge success all over the world with its Catalonian inspired pyro-technic procession. We wanted to gift Auckland with an occasion that would bring the city alive, energise the streets and ignite a celebratory feeling – everything a Festival is about.”

A show of incredible intensity, The Drums of Fire will perform across four Auckland locations - Aotea Square, Takapuna Beach Reserve, Freyburg Place and Te Wero Island, showcasing heart-racing drum rhythms, startling physicality and brilliant pyrotechnics (see specific times, dates and locations below).

Audience members are recommended to wear walking shoes, as the performers will begin in one location and audiences will follow on foot.

The Drums of Fire starts each night at 8pm and runs for 60-minutes.

People are advised to keep their eye on the Auckland Arts Festival Website, Facebook and Twitter accounts for any weather postponements or cancellations on the day.

Ends

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