Interview with Zanthe Watson – New Zealand Acro Festival

How long have you been going, how have you developed in that time?

New Zealand Acro Festival has only been running for a year now. And with two successful festivals in that time, we’re growing the festival and the NZ circus community every time!

Is there anything you're super excited for in this year's festival that you want to plug?

This year we are bringing some huge names from the acro world to NZ! People like Sports Acro super base Hilary Conroy, and the internationally renowned partnership Duo Die Acrobatics.

What does it take to bring an event like this together?

It takes a whole lot of time and support, pulling in every favour ever! The NZ and AUS community has been incredibly helpful and supportive. It generally takes us about six months to coordinate location, trainers, promoters, and gear rental. It’s a very large undertaking for the two of us and it invades every part of our lives.

What do you think the Circus Community at large should know about organising a festival?

It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. We eat, sleep, and breathe Acro Fest.  We talk about trainers during breakfasts, plan timetables at lunches, juggle logistics over dinners, and stress about finances at nights. Basically we have not stopped talking about it since it began. It’s not a gold mine, more like a passion that’s taken over.

What are you personally looking forward to the most in this years festival?

We are really excited that we are moving NZAF onsite! We have three days in Raglan with amazing trainers, up-skilling, and just hanging out with the community. It’s a large step for us and quite a gamble but it’s the direction we want to take the festival.

The New Zealand Acrobatics Festival runs from March 16-18.

For more information (and ticketing) look at the NZ Acro Fest Event Page

Photo courtesy of Acro Connect