The Australian Pavilion will host the biggest ever promotion of Australian culture over the coming months. From the first day of Expo, our diverse and exciting cultural program has delighted and enthralled visitors. In the coming months, we will bring performers and artists from all genres to showcase the richness and versatility of Australia's dynamic cultural scene.
Our culture program includes resident artists, visiting artists and Rising Stars as well as Australia's National Day Concert, held on 8 June.
We have two resident companies - Airbourne and the Sand Bar Band. Our Airbourne aerialists perform throughout the day, transforming our Act 3 space into an underwater world. Gracefully weaving between spectacular suspended glass floral sculptures, and playfully interacting with the crowds below, the show draws the audience's attention to the importance of protecting and nurturing our natural environment. This group of world class aerialists hail from Victoria, one of the platinum partners of the Australian pavilion.
As well, our quintessential Aussie Sand Bar Band performs every evening, creating a relaxed atmosphere on the Outdoor Stage. Led by David Stone, the Band's repertoire ranges from blues, folk and Australiana, to rock, pop and jazz - all with a distinctly Australian style. Demonstrating their incredible virtuosity, they are enthralling the crowds with an amazing array of instruments including guitars, drums, cahon, saxophone, flute, piano, keyboards, harmonica and more. David is joined in this truly international band by Lee Hardisty, Leon Tussie and Max Hay. In addition to entertainingn the general public, they are also performing for our VIP guests.
Our visiting artists program reflects the diversity of Australian creative capabilities. Over 30 visiting artists will perform over the course of the Expo. We have a range of Australia's best creative talent, including rock, pop, jazz, folk, blues, big band, orchestral and country music, classical and contemporary dance, street theatre, multimedia, plus our own unique brand of Australian humour. In the first two weeks of May, physical theatre group Chrome, with their quirky outfits and brand of humour, drew huge crowds eager to be photographed with the trio. In the second part of May, the internationally acclaimed Snuff Puppets got up to equally entertaining shenanigans with their delightful brand of humour, amusing the crowds as a herd of gigantic cows, seagulls or a group of crazy giants known as the Boom Family. Renowned sand artist Stefanos Elefttheriadis also amazed audiences by creating magical images in sand that were broadcast on our large-scale screen in the atrium. A multimedia show compiled by Experimenta and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in our Atrium added an extra dimension to the multimedia mix.
In the coming months there will be a range of visiting artists. Here is a sneak preview of what's in store: Victorian artists - Blue Grassy Knoll, a contemporary music group, and Polyglot Puppets, Queensland performers - jazz rythms of Stringmansassy and Deep Blue Orchestra, internationally respected Indigenous didgeridoo player William Barton, ACT contemporary dance group Kulture Break, WA circus theatre act Bizircus and musical group Jane Germain Duo, SA contemporary jazz singer Gabriella Smart and NSW street theatre performers Erth and Joel Salom will showcase their talents. Jazz and Guitar ensemble the Martinez Quartet from NSW performed in June. This fantastic selection of Australian performers demonstrates the skills and diversity of Australia's multicultural musical talent.
Over a dozen artists from around Australia make up our Rising Stars program, which features dynamic, fresh young talent selected from Australia's universities and conservatoria. These gifted young artists include pianists, classical ensembles, jazz quartets, and singers. They provide entertainment for our VIP guests in the over 200 business events which bring together Australian and Chinese companies, policy makers, researchers, and influencers at the pavilion. In May, Monika Pringardi, an upcoming classical pianist and the talented Zellwood Quartet delighted our VIPs. For June, VIP guests heard Andrey Lebedev (guitarist) and Laura Van Rijn (flautist) both from the Australian National University, Andrew Jones (pianist) from the Victorian College of the Arts and Music , Elly Hoyt (jazz vocalist), Joseph O'Connor (pianist) and Hannah Macklin. In July, we heard Luke Sweeting, Tony Lee and Belle Chen, and in August are looking forward to hearing Camellia Wong and Aidan Boase.
Watch this space for more information about our Rising Stars.
Australia's National Day event on 8 June was one of the highlights of our cultural calendar. Expo audiences will be thrilled by concerts bringing the best of young Australian talent. Our afternoon VIP concert which begins at 1530 will include current Australian rock and pop artists, contemporary Indigenous dance, jazz performers, choir, modern dance, physical theatre and unique Australian humour. For our national day on 8 June, performers from Australia perfomed for everyone's enjoyment in and around the pavilion. You can see what they looked like at our Images page here.
Oceania Month, in August will be another opportunity for Australia to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of our creative industries and our links with our Pacific neighbours. Indigenous Australian artists will have the opportunity to collaborate with our Pacific friends building our strong regional ties.
We are very excited about the next few months and look forward to you joining us as we bring the very best of our fresh, upcoming Australian artists and performers to the people of China.