Over the years Earthdance in Sydney has grown to become the largest free music festival in Australia. In 2008 it will hit a new venue, Prince Alfred Park in Surry Hills, and it’s expected to be bigger and better than ever before.
Keep this Saturday September 13th free, because it’s time to party for peace! We caught up with Marco Mazzucco, one of Earthdance Sydney’s festival directors and co-founder of Deep As Funk with Raf Gimelstein, to find out what’s in store for this weekend’s event.
For those that live under huge rocks… tell us, what is Earthdance?
Earthdance is the global music festival for peace. It has been running for over 10 years worldwide, and it’s been celebrated in more than 400 cities in over 75 countries. It is a global link-up of like minded people, musicians and artists, all in support of peace and humanitarian aims. Earthdance events around the world vary in size from 50 to 50,000 people and they’re run independently. Sydney is possibly the largest!
What is it you hope to achieve? Is it about raising awareness or trying to fix an existing problem?
We hope to achieve a high level of entertainment to satisfy as many different demographics as possible. Then, when everyone is having fun, through the entertainment and activities we hope that people leave with a stronger understanding and awareness of our world, peace and the environment… and that they’ve had one of the best days of their year!
Where did Earthdance begin and what’s the inspiration behind it?
Earthdance was conceived in 1996 by Australian born artist/musician Chris Deckker, who lives in California. It was a vision to unite the whole world through music, to show how the combination can be harnessed for positive and humanitarian aims. It has now become the largest ongoing global synchronised dance event in the world.
Is there a running theme in each state, city and country, or is each show different?
Every state is independently organised, so the art and music programs vary dramatically. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to amalgamate more states and cities to work in conjunction with the Earthdance Sydney team.
The festival combines art, music and dance. Does each one play as big a part at the next?
They’re all equally important to us, but I would say the music and dance have definitely played the biggest part in the past. However, this year art and performance will make up a significantly larger part of the festival, with an amazing program of interactive and static art. From graff artists to knitting workshops, ice sculptures and instant video portraits, we’ll have it all.
Around the world, which Earthdance has had the biggest turn out?
I would say Sydney, but a good friend of ours who helped us with the setup of Earthdance three years ago also adopted our free community event format and is running Earthdance Athens and he’s hot on our heels. We hope to link the two events with a satellite window in the future.
It’s run entirely by volunteers, and the artists also donate their time. Where do the profits go?
Generally Earthdance runs near the break even line, and the small profits we’ve made in the past have gone to our partner charities. Contrary to most people’s beliefs, last year’s event actually lost money, so we are encouraging everyone to donate generously as last year’s donations averaged to only 50 cents per person!
Will there be a link up internationally so the ‘Prayer for Peace’ can go ahead?
This year’s event will be linked globally. Earthdance Sydney will be held on the same day as the rest of the world; 13th September. Unfortunately we will miss the link-up hour because of our time zone difference, but Earthdance Sydney has been pushing to have the global link-up hour moved to better accommodate the ever-growing number of attendees at Earthdance events Australia-wide.
Finally, do you have any tips for Earthdance first timers?
Earthdance is not your standard festival; it’s about music, peace, the environment and the community. Bring your smile and open-mindedness and leave your social boundaries at home. Expect to see activist groups, aboriginal elders, hippies, yippies, people in costumes, electro kids, the gay & lesbian community, children, families, seniors, healers, hip-hopers and more. It’s definitely not a festival for closed minded people. Also there is a no BYO and no glass policy to prevent injuries, so leave the booze at home. Also, for all the promoters out there, we are supporting the environment so leave your pamphlets and promo material at home, as it ends up as rubbish on the ground and in the gutters!
