NCCA PIO
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts led by Chairman and National Artist Virgilio S. Almario —National Committee on Dance led by Shirley Halili-Cruz is once again organizing Dance Xchange: The Philippine International Dance Workshop and Festival with the theme “Cultural Connectivity through Dance” on April 26-30 in Roxas City, Capiz.
International participants from Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan, and Thailand join 21 dance troupes from across the country in the four-day dance extravaganza.
Dance Xchange is the Philippine celebration of International Dance Day every April 29. The International Dance Day (IDD) was created by the Dance Committee of the International Theater Institute-UNESCO which marks the birthdate of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet. The IDD aims to promote dance in all its forms across the world, to make people aware of the value of dance, share the joy of dance with others and, enable the dance community to promote their work on a broad scale, so that governments and opinion leaders are aware of the value and importance of dance and support it. Events and festivals are held all over the world to promote dance, thus, this Philippine celebration.
Dance Xchange is also held in accordance with Presidential Proclamation No. 154, declaring the last week of April as the “National Dance Week”. The program aims to enhance knowledge and skills of the dancers, dance teachers and choreographers on dances of the different countries as creative expression of their culture. With the number of international delegates participating, Dance Xchange also seeks to provide venue for exchange of ideas and showcase the unique dances of each participating country.
Artists’ forum, dance workshops to be conducted by dance directors from participating countries for teachers, festival of dance performances, outreach performances, and cultural tour shall ensue, providing platform for discussion on the global trends in dance education, and provide skills enhancement for events and festival management. The Department of Education and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges encourage the participation of teachers, choreographers, and dance trainor’s in Dance Xchange through the issuance of their respective Memorandum Circulars.
Dance Xchange is one of the banner projects of the NCCA made possible through partnerships will local government units. This year, the local governement of Roxas City in Capiz hosts the Dance Xchange opening venues like the Villareal Stadium and Grounds and the Capiz Provincial PArtk for its dance concerts, while dance workshops shall be held at Don Ynocencio A. Del Rosario National High School Gymnasium, Dayao, Roxas City. There will also be outreach performances in the municipalities of Cuartero, Jamindan, Sapian, Pilar, Dumalag, Sigma and Tapaz in Capiz as well as in the Municipality of Balete in Aklan among others.
