Murray Bramwell

Further details have been announced for the Honda Adelaide Music Festival which opens on September 10 – 26. The classical program has already been released and word is that tickets for headliners Roger Woodward and the Australian Chamber Orchestra are already moving fast.

But Fiesta is nothing if not diverse as the just-released Dance and Country programs indicate. The dancers of the Australian Ballet will present a mixed offering of well-known favourites with new work from the younger choreographers. There will also be a tribute to Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to mark the centenary of the composer’s death. Those performances will be at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday September 25 and on the following Sunday afternoon.

In a different mode is the Fred Astaire special, Change Partners and Dance. A cast of nearly sixty dancers led by popular names Barry Crocker and Geraldine Turner will trace the career of Astaire and collaborators Ginger Rogers and sister Adele. Written by Maureen Sherlock, directed by Rob George and compered by John Dean and Jane Doyle, the Fred Astaire tribute will showcase the combined talents of Hot Gossip, the Leigh Warren Dancers, the Tom Fairley Dancers and the Australian Drill Team. This return to the heady days of tap will be on Saturday September 18 in the Entertainment Centre.

In addition to an evening of dance with performers Tom Fairlie, Carmel Vistoli and Caroline Benson there is the National Ballroom Dancing Competition featuring dancesport exponents from around the country. The event promises steep competition for the richest prize pool ever offered in South Australia. Music will be performed live under the direction of international bandleader Ross Mitchell.

Traditional and contemporary dance forms combine at the Old Lion with music from Africa, the West Indies and Australia when African Waza performs with calypso steel drums and Ngarinderi Narungga Dreaming. At the Royalty Theatre the Latin American band Caramba feature in a night of Spanish music and dance presented by Ochita and the Spanish Dancing Academy of Australia. Meanwhile at the Old Lion on September 24 and 25 a program of traditional Brazilian, Chilean and Peruvian dance will be offered by Sabor Latino, Rio Samba, Clave Latina and Konalien.

There is plenty for country fans during Fiesta. Mo Award and Australasian Country Music Award winner Deniese Morrison will play at the Royalty supported by local singer Beccy Cole along with Margi Miller and Tracey Coster. Gospel singer Jimmy Little with his Country Bumpkin band leads a Country Gospel session also at the Royalty. The support includes Jim Hermel, Dallas List, Roger Redpath, Danny and Lea and Michele Stuart. Twice the Concert, scheduled for the Town Hall, brings together acoustic favourites Doug Ashdown and Mike McClellan for the first time in ten years and bush favourite Ted Egan will perform at the Old Lion with local band Kelly’s Revenge.

With the announcement of a Government underwriting by Tourism Minister Mike Rann, Fiesta has been acknowledged as a major lure for interstate visitors as well as the South Australian community. Executive Director Libby Ellis and the organisers of are anticipating that more than 250,000 people will turn out for the proposed events. The variety and quality of the classical, choral, jazz, dance and country programs already announced certainly suggests that the Adelaide Music Fiesta is on a roll.

The Adelaide Review, August, 1993.