Scottsdale Center Presents OrigiNation: A Festival of Native Cultures, 4/14–15

As part of its year-long Discovery Series exploring the arts of Australia and New Zealand, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present OrigiNation: A Festival of Native Cultures on April 14–15. The free, weekend-long outdoor celebration is offered in conjunction with the 10^th anniversary of Native Trails and the 25^th anniversary of Sunday A'Fair, with support from Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Exploring the arts and native cultures of Arizona, Australia and New Zealand, OrigiNation will take place on the grounds outside Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday, April 14–15, from noon to 4 p.m. The Festival will kick off on Saturday with a special Native Trails performance, featuring traditional Native American music and dance, followed by guitarist Aussie Jim Gregory and a dance show by the Kilali Polynesian Revue. The Living Traditions Dance Troupe and Big Nick and the Gila Monsters will perform on Sunday.

OrigiNation also will offer the opportunity to learn about native life in Arizona, Australia and New Zealand through music, song, dance, storytelling and more. Visitors will enjoy an arts and crafts market; creative projects for kids and families; cultural demonstrations and displays in the OrigiNation Learning Village, including video shorts in Stage 2 and an exhibition from the Cairns Photographic Society of Queensland, Australia; and native-inspired foods and beverages. 

DISCOVERY SERIES EVENTS

As part of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' Discovery Series, the acclaimed Australian dance troupe Chunky Move will perform Connected on Friday and Saturday, April 6–7, at 8 p.m. This innovative new work features dancers tethered to undulating kinetic sculptures constructed from wood, re-cycled plastic, paper and steel that float above the stage. Tickets to Chunky Move are $29–$39 and include a pre-show talk and Q&A with Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek on Saturday, April 7, at 6:30 p.m. in SMoCA Lounge.

On Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m., award-winning director Sam Pillsbury will screen and discuss his film Crooked Earth, starring Temuera Morrison as a former army captain wrestling with the traditions of his Maori culture. Crooked Earth is presented in partnership with Scottsdale International Film Festival. Tickets are $10.

On Saturday, April 14, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., the Australian dance-theater company Marrugeku will perform Buru, an exploration of the past, present and future of indigenous cultures. Inspired by the seasons of Western Australia's Yawuru people, Buru blends hip-hop, stilt dancing and storytelling with original songs and music reflecting life for young people in the community of Broome. Tickets to Marrugeku are $29–$39 and include a pre-show talk with the cast at 7 p.m. 

Additional information and tickets are available online at www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or through the Patron Services Box Office at (480) 499-TKTS (8587). Admission to the OrigiNation Festival on April 13–14 is free and does not require a ticket.

The Discovery Series is made possible in part by a grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Chunky Move's performance is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts. NDP is supported by lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust.

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