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David Atkins

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This article is about the Australian producer and director. For other people named David or Dave Atkins, see Dave Atkins (disambiguation).
David Atkins
David Atkins, who designed the Opening Ceremony of the Doha Arab Games, answers a question from the media
Born12 December 1955
Sydney, Australia
Occupation(s)Executive producer and artistic director
Websitehttp://www.dae.com.au/

David Atkins, OAM[1] (born 12 December 1955)[2] is an Australian dancer, choreographer, music-theatre director and producer.

He was recognised in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the entertainment industry and is Australia’s most awarded producer, choreographer and director, and CEO of David Atkins Enterprises, a major-events production company.

Career

Stage and television

Atkins created and performed in one of the first successful Australian musicals, Hot Shoe Shuffle, in 1993. The production later transferred to London's Queen's Theatre. Atkins was artistic director on Hey Hey It's Saturday and for the Bicentennial Military Tattoo. Atkins and Ignatius Jones were also co-writers and co-directors of the musical theatre production The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular.[1] [3] Atkins has starred in, produced, directed, choreographed and created more than 20 musicals in Australia, Britain, the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

World events

Atkins has directed and produced some of the largest live events of this decade, across continents, languages and international audiences. These include artistic director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,[3] the Ceremonies of the Doha 2006 Asian Games, the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony and Victory Ceremonies in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[4][5] He also produced the Expo 2010 outdoor Opening Ceremony in Shanghai, which was the largest multimedia display in world history to open the largest World Expo since its 1851 inception and most recently, the 2011 Moscow City Day Anniversary Celebrations, the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 New Zealand Rugby World Cup and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 12th Arab Games in Doha, Qatar.

Honours and awards

David Atkins was awarded a Gold Olympic Pin by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the President of the International Olympic Committee, for his work on the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[1] and was also awarded the OAM (Order of Australia Medal) for his work not only on the 2000 Summer Olympic Ceremonies but also for his contribution to the Australian Entertainment Industry.[1] In 2010, the Australian Event Awards presented David with a Lifetime Achievement Award [6] for his enduring contributions to the Australian events industry. In addition, his company received Best Export Award for its work on the Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the Opening Ceremony of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China. The Opening Ceremony of Vancouver 2010 also collectively earned three Emmy awards.

He is the brother-in-law of Daryl Somers.

References

  1. ^ a b c d David Atkins official website – about us
  2. ^ Melbourne Observer Archived 19 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Events — DAE official website
  4. ^ "Australian hired to S produce 2010 Olympic ceremonies". CBC News. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  5. ^ David Atkins and Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies:Backstagejob Archived 21 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Australian Event Awards — 2010 Official Website

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