Sutra wows Wellingtonians at Arts Festival

Sutra was the highlight of the 2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival, attracting a diverse audience of nearly 9,000 people to eight shows in the capital. It took place at St James’ Theatre between 26 February and 1 March 2010. Supported by Asia:NZ, the show was a roaring success that surpassed even the expectations of the organisers -  the original audience projection was 5,000 attendees.

Sutra was a rare opportunity for audiences to experience the martial arts practice of the Chinese monks from the original Shaolin temple in China within a contemporary context. The project is a collaboration between the Buddhist monks and Sidi Larbi Cherkaouai (Belgian choreographer), Antony Gormley (British designer) and Szymon Brzoska (Polish composer). Before creating Sutra, Cherkaoui spent several months at the Shaolin Temple exploring his life-long interest in the Shaolin philosophy and its intrinsic relationship with martial arts.

This production was very popular with school groups, with 17 schools and a total of 331 students attending Sutra.  12 senior school students also took part in a highly successful martial arts workshop, facilitated by the monks and hosted by Stan Chun from the New Zealand Wushu Federation.  177 people attended the Sutra art talk at the City Gallery, where the choreographer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaouai further elaborated on his experience of living with, and choreographing the work with, the Shaolin monks.

The Festival staff thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Shaolin monks.  The monks were delightful and visibly enjoyed their stay in Wellington, visiting Te Papa and taking in the city sights.  They were recognisable on the streets of Wellington as they engaged with pedestrians and passers-by.

Sutra was brought to New Zealand with the support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Image courtesy of Robert Catto - www.catto.co.nz