April 29 is International Day of Dance

International Dance Day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council, a UNESCO partner NGO, and is celebrated yearly, on April 29. The date is not linked to a particular person or a particular form of dance, although it's also the day when the French dancer and ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre was born.

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.

Every year, the president of the International Dance Council sends the official message for Dance Day which circulate in every country around the world.

Mr. Alkis Raftis, President of the International Dance Council, UNESCO, has sent a message to the world public on the Day, whereby he notes that the International Dance Council , the umbrella organization for all forms of dance within UNESCO is competent for representing and supporting the art of dance. It promotes Dance Day through its global network of Sections and members.

The International Dance Council considers that while dance has been an integral part of human culture throughout its history, it is less prioritized by official establishments in the world.

Dance, being a central part of every culture, constitutes the ideal means for bringing together people from different countries.

Festivals promote in the most lively manner reciprocal knowledge and respect of diversity; there are hundreds of millions attending international dance festivals each year.

Teachers offering classes in foreign countries provide immediate bridges of understanding ingrained into the bodies of dancers; there are tens of thousands of dance teachers crossing national borders yearly.

Congresses and open conferences provide opportunities to showcase one's work to an audience of peers; there are dozens of international meetings of dance researchers, historians and critics in any given year.

Even outside festivals, classes or conferences, simply watching on television a dance from a foreign country offers the most striking, appealing and convincing image of another ethnic group.

For vividly illustrating cultural diversity, for embodying rapprochement, there is no better means than dance.

There are a number of Azerbaijani dances. Azerbaijan’s national dance shows the characteristics of the Azerbaijani nation. These dances differ from other dances with its quick temp. And this talks about nation’s quickness. The national clothes of Azerbaijan are well preserved within the national dances.

The history of folk dances of Azerbaijan is very old. The scenes of dances reflected on Gobustan rock pictures are proof of that. Like in many nations of the world Azerbaijanis also had as first dances the ritual and hunting dances.

Beginning since early the medieval centuries various types of folk dances began to form.

Azerbaijani folk dances are very colorful from the viewpoint of themes and these types are – labor, ceremony, household, heroism, sport, chorus game (e.g. “Yalli”, “Halay”) etc. For terms of continuation, richness of the rituals and colorful the marriage ceremony is most important.

Famous Azerbaijani folk dances are Alçagulu, Ay beri bakh (Hey, look at me), Azerbaijan, Banovsha (Violet), Çhalpapaq, Jangi, Jeyrani,

Gelin havasi – bride tune, Heyvagulu, Innabi, Koroghlu, Lala (Tulip), Mirvari, Mirzayi, Misri, Naznazi and etc.

In accordance with the presidential decree, in 2014 the Baku Choreographic Academy was created on the basis of the Baku School of Choreography to promote preservation and development of Azerbaijani national dances. The Academy is the first in the East as such dance institution.

/By AzerTac/