As part of the Auckland Festival, New Zealand will be featuring its first disability arts festival, Giant Leap. Featuring international professional disabled artists, this is the first disability festival in the world to be incorporated into a mainstream arts festival. Creative Director of Giant Leap, disabled comedian Philip Patston says: ‘I’m thrilled to be able to pioneer in New Zealand the inclusion of a distinct and unique presence of disability arts in a mainstream arts event.' 'There have been smaller, local events before in New Zealand but none at this scale or with a global focus.’ The festival was originally proposed to help implement the New Zealand Disability Strategy, specifically Objective 9 - to support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people. Giant Leap aims to highlight and celebrate the perspectives and creativity of professional disabled artists and performers. ’Art and performance,’ says Philip, ‘be it literary, dance, theatre, music, film, video, or humour are magic and creative forces. Mix them with the experience of disability and they become a miraculous expression of the illusion of limitation and proof of the existence of infinite human potential.’ The festival will include performances, seminars, mentoring, exhibitions and new media. Performers from London, Vancouver, and Singapore will be coming to Auckland for the festival. Among them are American David Roche, who will perform his acclaimed, award-winning one-man show The Church of 80% Sincerity, UK actor and writer Mat Fraser, who will look at the connection between today’s disabled performers, and the old freak show entertainers of the past in Sealboy Freak , and Singapore’s Ramesh Meyyappan, a multi-faceted and deaf practitioner who will perform his show This Side Up and run a deaf theatre masterclass. ’Giant Leap will be an opportunity for Auckland, NZ, tourist and overseas audiences to see quality, professional international disability art and performance, providing role models, mentoring, debate, stimulation, inspiration, cross-fertilisation of ideas, art forms, skills and education, as well as general positive awareness and promotion of disabled people, disability issues and the need for access to the arts,’ says Patston. The Festival launches with an opening concert on 28 February at the Auckland Performing Arts Centre. The festival’s homepage has programme, performances details and more. To visit, go to www.giantleap.org.nz