Dance Day, Friday April 29, 2011

On the 29th of April, as every year since 1982, the official Dance Day will be celebrated all over the world by millions of dancers. It is an initiative of the International Dance Council CID, UNESCO. We have prepared the following guidelines as a checklist for persons involved in the wider field of dance: teachers, choreographers, group leaders, journalists, researchers, associations, suppliers, organizations etc.

Object

The main purpose of Dance Day events is to attract the attention of the wider public to the art of dance. Emphasis should be given to addressing a “new” public, people who do not follow dance events during the course of the year.

Events

Dance Day events may be special performances, open-door classes, public rehearsals, lectures, exhibitions, articles in newspapers and magazines, dance evenings, radio and TV programs, visits, street shows, parades, shop window decorations etc.

Organizers

Events are primarily organized by dance companies, amateur groups, schools, associations and other institutions active in dance. Wherever possible, it is better for events to be organized jointly with a non-dance institution such as a government agency, a public school, a municipality, a business enterprise, a trade union.

Content

Organizers have full freedom to define the content of the event.

Make sure that you include general information on the art of dance, its history, its importance to society, its universal character. This can be done in a short speech, a note in the program, a text distributed to those present. By adding this dimension you make the event different from dance activities taking place any other day.

Read a message from a prominent personality, a poem, a passage from a text by a famous author.

Coordination

In order to achieve maximum success, it is important that preparations start early enough.

It is imperative to inform the press and generally the media about your event.

Notify an organization holding a central position at regional or national level, which should publish a list of events planned for Dance Day.

Entrance to events should preferably be free, or by invitation. Invite persons who do not normally attend dance events.

Location

At best, events should take place in “new” places, such as streets, parks, squares, shops, factories, villages, discotheques, schools, stadiums etc.

By setting the event in original surroundings you stress the fact that this is an event dedicated to the universal family of dancers.

Dr. Alkis Raftis

President of the CID