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The past three weeks have been jam packed full of Festival highlights. We opened with a bang on January 5 with Festival First Night and saved some of the best til last with Bjork's incredible performance on the Forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on January 23.
We asked Sydney Festival staff for their favourite 'Festival moment', here are some of their responses:
"Being part of the Ngapartji Ngapartji audience where we all learnt how to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes in Pitjantjatjara."
"Seeing the whole of Martin Place packed and pumping with all those crazy kids on Festival First Night was pretty damn special."
"Watching the terror on Fergus' face while a ten year old tore his hair apart at Haircuts by Children, while trying to reassure him it looked ok (it didn't!)"
"Hearing the crowd sing the line 'I believe everything is possible' for five minutes during Amp Fiddler's encore at Beck's Festival Bar."
"Getting shivers up my spine listening to Joanna Newsom playing her harp and singing her gorgeous, ethereal songs backed by the Sydney Symphony. Simply magical."
"A woman was feeling faint while watching Black Watch and was escorted into the CarriageWorks foyer by a doctor who happened to be in the audience. When staff asked the doctor if there was anything they could do to thank him for his help, he replied without a moments hesitation, 'two tickets to La Clique please'!"
"Standing backstage in the Domain on Festival First Night watching Brian Wilson do an impromptu song with his band members."
"Kutcha Edwards' performance in murundak when he brought out framed photographs of his deceased parents, placed one on each side of him and dedicated his song to them, saying they would be so proud of him performing in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. A beautiful Festival moment."
"Singing along to The Proclaimers with the actors from Black Watch at karaoke after their show one night."
"My highlight was watching the faces of our three wedding couples on Festival First Night as Julie McCrossin announced they had each won a honeymoon cruise. Their jaws dropped!"
"Lining up to have my haircut in Parramatta by a 10 year old at Haircuts by Children and seconds before being approached for a style consultation with my hairdresser, seeing the event coordinator come bounding out the front door yelling 'anyone got any band-aids'!??
"Sydney Symphony behind a tarpaulin over the entire front of the Domain stage at Symphony in the Domain, playing to 800 people in the pouring rain! Bizarre, dedicated and a moment of true Festival spirit!"
"The beauty and grace of Three Works by Nacho Duato reminded me that all the blood, sweat and tears working for Sydney Festival are worth it - 100%."
"Getting so inspired by the vision, idealism and pragmatism of director Scott Rankin at his Eat Drink Talk Art appearances."
"Being showered with Airvag's confetti on Festival First Night, and feeling like a five year old with a big grin on my face."
"Watching the opening of Dance Screen at Sydney Opera House and thinking... yes - we did it, and it looks fabulous!"
"The three closing images of three shows - the salt falling in White Darkness (Three Works by Nacho Duato), the water in Alas, and the marvelous shuttlecocks falling from the sky in James Thiérrée's Au Revoir Parapluie."
"Conducting crane-making workshops at Kids First with hundreds of enchanted families. Watching the exasperation of some poor parents who fell behind their own five-year old in the fold-by-fold process would have to take the cake!"
"A fan with a bunch of native flowers for Brian Wilson was turned away at stage door by security. Disappointed, she went to walk out when she saw Brian Wilson entering the theatre. 'Are they for me?' he asked, 'How beautiful! Thank you so much. Will you come back stage and give them to me after the show?' The look on her face was fantastic."
"At the sound-check for A Secret in the Shape of a Song when Rob Snarski was singing with The Triffids and guests in full flight behind him, realising just how amazing the show was going to be."
"Joanna Newsom and members of The National cutting a rug on the dance floor at The Famous Spiegeltent while two of Björk's band members DJ'd!"
"8am on the opening day standing in the middle of a closed Macquarie street with three Festival First Night stages in view thinking... it's about to begin!"
"Watching the sun set through the stained glass windows of The Famous Spiegeltent as Andrew Bird plucked, strummed and looped us all into musical bliss."
"Looking out over a soaking Symphony in the Domain at the die hard fans and the feeling from all onstage that we owed to it them to give a damn good show."
"Watching our 10 year olds run a tip-top salon at Haircuts by Children, greeting customers, arranging appointments and 'consulting' on hairstyles ... and then going for beers once all the young hairdressers had gone home!"
"Wrapping up the Festival by watching Au Revoir Parapluie from the Greenroom with a bottle of red and a bowl of popcorn."
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