The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) led by Chairman and National Artist Virgilio Almario and National Committee on Dance led by Shirley Halili-Cruz once again organized “Dance Xchange: The Philippine International Dance Workshop and Festival.”
Held on April 26 to 30 in Roxas City, Capiz, the festival carried the theme “Cultural Connectivity through Dance.”
Dance Xchange is the Philippine celebration of International Dance Day every April 29. The International Dance Day (IDD) was created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute-Unesco which marks the birthdate of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.
IDD aims to promote dance in all its forms across the world, including the Philippines, to make people aware of the value of dance, share the joy of dance with others and, enable the dance community to promote their work on a broad scale, so that governments and opinion leaders are aware of the value and importance of dance and support it.
Dance Xchange is also held in accordance with Presidential Proclamation No. 154, declaring the last week of April as the “National Dance Week.” The program aims to enhance knowledge and skills of the dancers, dance teachers and choreographers on dances of the different countries as creative expression of their culture.
With the number of international participating delegates, Dance Xchange provided a venue for exchange of ideas and showcase the unique dances of each participating country.
Artists’ forum, dance workshops were conducted by dance directors from participating countries for teachers. Festival of dance performances, outreach performances, and cultural tour shall ensued.
International participants from Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand joined 21 dance troupes from across the country in the four-day dance extravaganza.
Dance Xchange is one of the banner projects of the NCCA made possible through partnerships with local government units.
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