Festival Producer: Sums Selvarajan

Sums Selvarajan is an arts administrator with a law degree and experience in theatre production management, stage management, administration, PR and project management.

She currently freelances for various arts organisations, including as Assistant Producer at Indian Ink Theatre Company and Production/Stage Manager at The Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts, and is a director at arts and tech consultancy WhySquare Limited.

Previous roles include Senior Executive, PR & Projects at an international trade events company, General Manager for a Malaysian youth theatre company, School Administrator for The Performing Arts School of New Zealand and Administrative Coordinator for The Documentary New Zealand Trust.

Sums was part of the original team that established Short+Sweet Auckland in 2010 and served as Production/Stage Manager for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 festivals. She is very proud to step into the role of Festival Producer for Short+Sweet Auckland 2013 seasons of Song, Dance and Theatre.

Artistic Director: Theatre and Song – Jonathan Hodge

Jonathan has worked since 2009 on Short+Sweet Auckland. Most recently he was Festival Director for the 2011 & 2012 Theatre Festivals. He is Currently the Artistic Director for the Theatre Festival.

Jonathan has also worked a producer for Catalyst Theatre Company producing all their half dozen shows.

Jonathan is a trained actor and has worked in the theatre on ‘A City of Souls’, ‘Slow Train’ ‘TWACAS’ ‘Heroes’ & ‘Making a Killing’ for Catalyst; ‘The Ensemble Project 2007′ for Silo Theatre; and ‘Oliver’ and ‘Duchess of Malfi’ for ATC. He has appeared in ‘Legend of The Seeker’ and ‘Shortland Street’ on TV and has done voice work for Skoda, Telecom and AMI among others.

Jonathan graduated from Unitec acting Program in 2005 and also holds a B.Sc. In management science from university of Canterbury. He is also a proud member of Actors Equity New Zealand.

Artistic Director: Dance – Lydia Zanetti

Lydia Zanetti sits somewhere between choreographer, dancer, producer, curator and stage manager. She is a graduate of Unitec’s Contemporary Dance programme and DANZ with University of Auckland’s Producing Project.

Since graduating she has choreographed for various shows, curated I HEART and Joan of Hearts under Sweaty Heart Productions, choreographed for the musical Day After Night, stage managed for Tempo Dance Festival 2012 and assisted in production for The Performance Arcade, Random Acts of Christmas 2011 and 2012 and The Living Room 2012. She is currently helping run the Auckland Arts Festival’s event En Route.

Lydia was Assistant Producer and Assistant Stage Manager for the inaugural season of Short + Sweet Dance in 2012 and is looking forward to the madness all over again.

Associate Producer: Yee Yang ‘Square’ Lee

Square is a creative entrepreneur with qualifications in Law, Arts Management, Theatre, Film and as a Chartered Secretary. He freelances as an arts manager, producer, director, designer, web developer and consultant for a diverse range of arts and not-for-profit clients through his consultancy WhySquare Limited.

Having recently stepped down from a 7-month assignment as Acting General Manager for The New Zealand Dance Company, he is currently Founding Trustee & General Manager of The Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts, Trustee of the Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust and an Organising Committee Member of the Auckland Performing Arts Forum. He has a special interest in governance in the not-for-profit sector and completed his Masters with a thesis investigating the state and standard of governance in the New Zealand arts sector.

Square was involved in the establishment of Short+Sweet Auckland in 2010 and is very pleased to reprise his role as Associate Producer for Short+Sweet New Zealand in 2013.

Associate Producer: Carrie Rae Cunningham

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Carrie Rae came to Auckland in 2003 to earn her Masters degree in Dance Studies from the University of Auckland, working with numerous local choreographers and performing in several dance and performance productions.

Carrie Rae has been with Tempo Dance Festival since 2008 as a producer, artistic consultant and mentor.  She is the main contributor to DanceStuff, a blog dedicated to writing, reviewing and critical commentary on dance in the local and national community.

Carrie Rae produced the inaugural season of Short + Sweet Dance in 2012 and has created and produced shows for Auckland Fringe Festivals.  She has also worked with several local dance companies and artists including Atamira, Michael Parmenter, New Zealand Dance Company and White Face Crew as a consultant for the development of new choreographed works and projects.