International Dance Day: 29 April 2017

International Dance Day is celebrated annually on 29 April. Also known as World Dance Day, the day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Committee (IDC) of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), a French dancer and ballet master.

World Dance Day aims to increase the awareness of the importance of dance, and to persuade governments all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education.

Around the world, there are events on World Dance Day, such as open-door-courses, exhibitions, dance evenings, street shows, and special performances.

The IDC is a non-profit umbrella organization for all forms of dance throughout the world. It was founded in 1973 within the UNESCO headquarters and has its headquarters in Paris, France. Currently it is represented in over 120 countries.

Jean-Georges Noverre

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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