The Festival of Colour trust launched the 37-act programme to nearly 200 guests at the Lake Wanaka Centre last night.
Ole Ola features 12 dancers and is being brought to Wanaka by husband and wife tango dancers Fabio and Ana Robles, of Australia, who also visited Wanaka in 2009.
The world-ranked dancers run a large dance school and production company and work with the Australian Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance television productions.
Ole Ola is touring Victoria and takes its audience on a journey through Central and South American dance, including the tango, salsa and carnivale.
Wanaka audiences will be the first in the world to see Dave Armstrong's theatre production Rita and Douglas, featuring actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand and pianist Michael Houstoun.
The production, directed by Conrod Newport, is an adaptation of letters written by painter Rita Angus to composer Douglas "Gordon" Lilburn. They met in the early 1940s and had a brief but passionate affair.
The second world premiere is a local theatre production Riverside Drive, featuring senior Mt Aspiring College pupils and members of Flat Out Productions.
The play, written by Graeme Tetley and directed by Sara Brodie, follows 15-year-old David and his family, friends and neighbours, as they negotiate a 1950s society intent on keeping the lid bolted down on teenage immorality, sex, and rock and roll.
Another of Ms Schofield's top picks is The Phoenix Foundation, which was named the Best Group at the 2010 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.
The Aspiring Conversations programme has 10 events and a diverse range, from columnist Joe Bennett to theologian Lloyd Geering.
Visual arts events include the Kelliher Art Trust Collection and Pouwhenua - Billboards on the Land, featuring five artists who will paint large billboards along the lakefront.
The WildSouth Film Festival, a schoolfest, street theatre and local exhibitions are also included in the programme.
The fourth biennial Festival of Colour has a budget of about $850,000, in line with previous years, and is directed by Philip Tremewan.
Tickets go on general release on Monday, February 21.
