Adelaide is the playground for many culturally-diverse musicians, particularly during February and March when festival-goers are hungry for new and exciting acts and events to experience. For one night only a dazzling array of artists will come together in ‘the spirit of diversity’ to perform at the Adelaide Town Hall.
Spetacollo will be held on Saturday 25 February at 7.30pm and will feature acclaimed mystic music group Farhan Shah & SufiOz, divine Persian classical music by the Nava Ensemble, the furiosa of Compania Alma Flamenca, and sublime Kathak North Indian dance peformances by the Nupur Jhankar Dance Academy.
“It’s the biggest multicultural extravaganza offering by world class acclaimed groups in one ticket and show in Adelaide Town Hall.”
– Farhan Shah
The producers have been able to keep this event affordable with the help of funding from generous sponsors as Shah explains. “With the support of the Fringe and MDO we have kept the ticket very affordable as low as $20 to offer the biggest multicultural offering to the maximum people.”
Farhan Shah & SufiOz are a multiracial group of musicians performing Sufi music of Pakistan and North India. Sufi blends contemporary and traditional sounds and instruments such as harmonium, tablas, and santoor with keyboards, drums, bass, and electric guitar. The ensemble is lead by accomplished vocalist Farhan Shah, dubbed ‘The Pakistani Pavarotti’, and brings together members from Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne to play high-powered Sufi-inspired music in Australia. SufiOz appeared at WOMADelaide in 2022 and recently completed tours in Sydney and Brisbane supported by the Australia Council for the Arts.
To complement SufiOz’s music, the Nava Persian Ensemble perform divine music on the Ney, Tar, Daf, and Tombek. Furthermore, dance ensembles Compania Alma Flamenca and Nupur Jhankar Dance Academy are set to elevate the music experience through their vibrant movement.
Compania Alma Flamenca is an internationally-recognised, award-winning Flamenco dance company directed by Roshanne de Silva Wijeyeratne. The ensemble has performed at WOMADelaide in 2017, Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival in New Zealand, the Adelaide Guitar Festival in 2021, and has sold out the world-famous Victoria Spiegeltent in 2019.
The Nupur Jhankar Dance Academy started in 2016. It is led by dance director Mitali Mukherjee and its mission is to keep traditional North Indian Kathak dance alive in South Australia through classes, workshops, and public performances.
Of the upcoming performance, Shah says, “I feel great and, personally, I am a big fan of cross-culture collaboration. We have been doing these experiments for many years now. Dance, music and any other art form [help] to express emotions hence we try our best to touch all senses during presentations.”
Tickets for Spetacollo are available now via the Adelaide Fringe website here.
