Ballet Manila for International Dance Day 2017
Did you know that there is such a thing as International Dance Day ? Well I didn’t, until I came across a video from Ballet Manila which brought together dance heavyweights for the International Dance Day 2017. What exactly is this day about?
Photo credit: Ballet Manila
International Dance Day
International Dance Day was introduced by a UNESCO partner NGO – International Dance Council in 1982. It is celebrated yearly on April 29 with the main purpose of attracting attention of the public to the art of dance. Emphasis is placed on reaching people who are not following any dance event at any time of the year. It seeks to encourage official entities to give corresponding importance to dance and its development, given the fact that it forms an integral part of human culture.
Dance as an Art Form
Dance is defined as a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement. While it is often thought of something people do to entertain themselves, a form of socialization perhaps, many people have made successful careers out of it. It has brought recognition and fulfillment to many, even bringing them to the next step of teaching and mentoring others who would like to learn.
Ballet Manila for International Dance Day 2017
Ballet Manila’s Lisa Macuja-Elizalde gathered a handful of dance artists—legends in their respective disciplines to commemorate International Dance Day 2017. This was in the form of a video of these artists speaking about their struggles, triumphs, and the reasons why they keep pushing forward. The collaboration video features “Mr. Pure Energy” Gary Valenciano and his son Gab Valenciano, The Maneuvers’ Jason and Joshua Zamora, pole dance advocate Ciara Sotto, and celebrity choreographer Nesh Janiola.
Ballet Manila has been an active proponent of the International Dance Day over the past couple of years. It is the country’s premiere classical dance company and also runs The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet Manila where the next generation of Filipina ballerinas are trained. As the country’s only Prima Ballerina, Lisa has overcome her fair share of challenges spread across a long, storied career. She became the first Asian to earn the highest honors at the Russian Ballet Academy, where she trained in the Vaganova style of Ballet—considered by many to be the toughest form of ballet.
What does a dancer leave behind? This is what Lisa has to say: ” Dancers leave behind memories of their bodies moving in space and telling a story together with the music…celebration of the kind of athleticism that is artistic as well and tells a story or creates a mood without having to say a single word”.
Watch this video:
My Say
Dancing was very part of my life during my younger days. It was just pushed back among the least priorities when adult responsibilities came piling in. Given the chance though, it is something that I would like to take up as a form of enjoyable exercise with my daughter. Keeping my fingers crossed for that.
