Dear Friends,
 International Dance Day has been celebrated on the April 29^th since 1982, through promotion of International Dance Council (CID) , an umbrella organization within the UNESCO. It was introduced by the International Dance Committee of the UNECSO International Theatre Institute, commemorating the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

The main goals of the International Dance Day has been to increase awareness of the importance of dance among the general public, persuade governments all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education, from primary to the highest, and to provide an occasion to celebrate dance and dancing.

This is the first time that this day is being celebrated in West Bengal.

Organized by:

The World Dance Alliance – Asia Pacific (West Bengal Chapter),

West Bengal State Music Academy (Government of West Bengal),

Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre

The event is important in highlighting the dance activities in West Bengal , especially keeping the young and enthusiastic new generation of dancers in mind.

It also hopes to create an environment of sharing and participation in larger multi-cultural context of the whole of Asia and the Pacific, by becoming active participants in various dance related activities, of performances, dance workshops, seminars, young choreographers exchange programmes, organized or supported by World Dance Alliance- Asia Pacific

the programme:

• The events start with two workshops , being held at West Bengal State Music Academy premises, by two choreographers selected by the World Dance Alliance - Asia Pacific, and the selected choreographers, are, Mr. Leng Po Gee from Malaysia and Ms. Mei-Kuang Li from Taiwan.
  
• The workshops will be held from the 20th till the 28th of April, 2006.
  
• The Dance Day itself will have whole day events, starting with a symposium on Contemporary Issues in the world of Dance with Sadanand Menon and Samik Bandopadhyay as  the speakers.
• The talks will be followed by contemporary films on dance.
• The Evening Performance- The two showcase performances of the choreographies done in the workshops, will be staged on the evening of International Dance Day itself, at Rabindra Sadan, along with other presentations by selected troupes from West Bengal. Twelve such performances have been chosen from numerous applications and a detailed open selection process.

Entry free for the International dance Day Celebrations at Rabindra Sadan.

All are welcome. Please join us in making this event a success.