PuSh Festival Continues to Exceed Expectations in its Second Decade
February 12, 2015
The 11th annual PuSh International Performing Arts Festival took place across Vancouver from January 20 to February 8, 2015. Building on a decade of growth and achievement, the 11th annual edition of the Festival was a remarkable start to a second decade. At the conclusion of the three weeks of performances and celebrations, PuSh Festival Artistic and Executive Director Norman Amour says, “This has been a year of new beginnings: a new managing director at the helm, new co-located administrative and festival production facilities in the heart of downtown Vancouver. We animated new performance spaces from the Vancouver Playhouse, to the Fox Cabaret and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza. Equally impressive were our new presenting and community partners who joined us in realizing our mission, including the CBC, Vancouver International Children’s Festival, Green Thumb Theatre, Alliance Française, the Vancouver Lookout, Other Sights, Burrard Arts Foundation, rEvolver Festival, and Georgia Strait Alliance. These are only a few of the extraordinary additions to our community of supporters. This marks the beginning of a brand new decade for PuSh. Already deep into planning for 2016, we look to carry forward this momentum with an even more ambitious level of excellence, artistic innovation, and audience and community engagement.”
Following her first PuSh Festival experience, Managing Director Roxanne Duncan, who joined the organization in June 2014, says, “What an astonishing journey PuSh has been on this year. In December we moved into our new office space at 750 Hamilton Street, and only a few weeks later we launched the 11th annual PuSh Festival, which was an unqualified success. The talent and stamina of our amazing staff, the dedication of our outstanding Festival volunteers, and Vancouver’s hearty appetite for bold performance are what keep PuSh going—and will continue to propel us through our next decade.”
Overview of the 2015 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival:
- There were over 250 performances and events at 17 venues across Vancouver over 20 days.
- Total attendance numbers reached almost 28,000, with an average house capacity of 87% for performances and over 90 sold-out events.
- The Festival included: 22 Main Stage shows spanning theatre, dance, music and multimedia performance, including four sold-out performances of the wildly popular Quebec circus show Séquence 8; 18 PuSh Conversations with artists pre- and post-performances; three weeks of startling, experimental performances at Club PuSh; a free film series; the PuSh Assembly for arts industry professionals; Patrons Circle donor events; dinner/theatre packages with Dine Out Vancouver and much more!
- A total of 300 artists presented work from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and the United States.
- PuSh hosted American choreographer Emily Johnson as the 2015 Artist-in-Residence, in the creation spaces of PuSh’s new office facilities.
- 400 Four- and Six-Show PuSh Passes sold out to eager PuSh audience members.
- More than 450 young people aged 16 to 24 registered for the PuSh Youth Passport program, allowing them to see select shows for $5 a ticket.
- Over 200 tickets were given out for free or at reduced prices through the Accessible PuSh program, including tickets to Aboriginal community groups and people with accessibility considerations.
- A dedicated roster of over 170 volunteers worked more than 2,200 hours in support of the Festival, plus 75 volunteer community dancers who rehearsed for three months to perform Le Grand Continental®.
- PuSh’s dedicated Patrons Circle donors contributed over $24,000 over the course of the Festival.
The next edition of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival takes place January 19 to February 7, 2016. Programming will be announced in early November 2015.
PuSh Festival Publicists:
Ellie O’Day: 604.731.3339, ellie@oday.org
Teresa Trovato: 604.897.1939, teresatrovatopr@gmail.com