Celebrating the International Dance Day
Who can celebrate?
Celebrations open to everyone
The main pillars of ITI – the ITI Centres and Cooperating Members – are the driving force behind the celebration of International Dance Day in their country or region. A celebration on the day itself or around it can be organized and promoted by anyone and everyone. Dance venues, theatre and dance institutions, theatre, dance and performing arts universities, government institutions, ministries of cultures, dance makers and dance lovers all over the world are invited to celebrate International Dance Day.
ITI recommends that individuals or institutions who want to celebrate the day to coordinate it with the ITI Centre or Cooperating Member in their country or region. The list of member addresses can be found in the directory online at www.iti-worldwide.org.
If someone is holding an event and sends the information of the event to info(at)iti-worldwide.org the event will appear on the virtual map of this website.
Translation of the message
Due to the multitude of languages that exist all over the world, and because the message should be understood by the people in a country or region, the message of International Dance Day is always translated into the country’s language or languages and the same goes for the short biography of the author. The translations are sent to the General Secretariat of ITI for publication on the website www.international-dance-day.org or www.iti-worldwide.org as soon as the message is publicly released, so that they can be used by all.Promotion of the message with video / YouTube
a) The message author reads the messageA video of the message Author reading his/her Message on YouTube has been a successful way to promote the message. In 2012, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui made a video that had over 30 000 hits on YouTube (beginning 2013). To have the author read his/her message on a video that can be uploaded on YouTube and different websites is ideal. Usually this is done through an agreement between the author and the General Secretariat of ITI and the produced video is made available for use all over the world.
b) Prominent dance personalities read the message
Sometimes it is not possible to have the author read his/her message. In this case, ITI asks its Centres, Cooperating Members and friends to select a personality, well known in a region or a country, to read the translated message in his/her language and to send the video to the General Secretariat for post-production and publishing on the ITI websites and YouTube.
Promotion of the message on stage
In some countries the message is read on International Dance Day, 29 April (or around the day) before a show begins. The message can also be read before/after the intermission or in the lobby of a dance venue. Parallel to this, leaflets with the message and the biography of the author can be placed on the seats or distributed at the ticket office or at the entrance of the theatre or dance venue.Publishing of the message in print media
Additionally to distributing leaflets with the message and the biography of the message author, the message can be sent to newspapers and magazines for publication. This has to be coordinated with the General Secretariat, as soon as the message is available in the original language and in the language required by the newspaper or magazine.
Books and posters
Sometimes the latest message is printed together with all previous messages in a book and released on International Dance Day. This has already been the case in Croatia. If you would like to have all the messages, they are available on this website in English and French.A way of promoting the message can be a poster with a photo or photos of the author and his/her message.
Promotion of the message via radio, TV, press and internet
ITI Centres, Cooperating Members, and friends are asked to send the International Dance Day messages to the news media. If the author is available, he or she should give interviews. This can also be done through video conference with a TV station or over the phone with a radio station. If possible, the General Secretariat of ITI liaises between the author and the media.Theatre and dance venues and organizations should post the messages on their website.
The text of the message is available in different languages.
Promotion of the message with a special event, a charity performance, etc.
The types of events organized around International Dance Day are as numerous as the ideas that inspire them. Here is a short list of the major ones which can be done on or around International Dance Day, 29 April:• Special dance award ceremonies;
• Charity performances for organizations, people or specific issues connected to dance;
• Fundraising for a special projects with a gala, ball, dinner, etc.;
• Open doors for Dance schools, academies and universities;
• Free tickets during International Dance Day for selected performances;
• Conferences, special performances, symposia, colloquia and round tables;
• Meetings with dancers/choreographers;
• Street dance festivals;
• Manifestation/procession for dance;
• A flash mob (a flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression).
Celebrate International Dance Day with your own ideas
Your creativity is encouraged. Many ideas can be developed for the celebration of International Dance Day. There are already blogs that you can find on the internet. For example, in Cuba, International Dance Day is part of the culture and can even be found referenced in Tourist Guides. There can also be special stamps for one of the days.So your creativity is encouraged! Please do send us your ideas and your kind of event, and also where and when you celebrate the day, so that we can put it on the Celebration Map on our websites.
If you would like to contact us, tell us about what you are planning to do, need more information or advice, please write an email to: info(at)iti-worldwide.org