Ghana celebrates worlds Dance Day

Nationaltheatresave

Wed, 30 Apr 2014 Source: GNA

The National Theatre of Ghana, through its resident group the Ghana Dance Ensemble, led in the commemoration of the 32 International Dance Day which seeks to help bring dance to the hearts of all Ghanaians.

The National Theatre staged “flash-mobs” on some principal streets of Accra started from the Tema Station to Max Mart Shopping Mall near the 37th Military Hospital to the Tetteh Quarshie interchange to Shoprite on the Osu Oxford street and ended at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

The celebration was on the general theme: “Let dance into your life, call dance into your breath, and let dance be the connection between your spirit and the living universe”.

Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, the Minister of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts, described dance as a powerful tool that could be used to refresh the body and relax the mind.

“We should therefore use the International Dance Day as a tool to preserve our rich cultural dances, market and transform them to serve as a tourist attraction,” she said in a speech read on her behalf.

Mrs Ofosu-Agyare said the International Dance Day also known as the World Dance Day was a viable mechanism to promote domestic tourism in order to foster cultural cohesion and national integration as well as the re-distribution of income.

The “flash-mob,” dancing at the various locations performed by the National Dance Ensemble saw the blending of traditional cultural dance with some modern moves.

The show attracted large audience who though ignorant about the event joined the group to dance.

Ms Amy Appiah Frimpong, the Deputy Executive Director of the National Theatre, told the GNA in an interview that traditional dances had gone through some metamorphosis over the years but the cultural element remained the same.

She Ghana had rich cultural dances which, when properly packaged and promoted, would serve as tourist attraction especially during celebration of festivals, and called on traditional leaders to develop mechanisms to promote traditional dances.

In 1982 the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute of UNESCO set aside the Day to celebrate the anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of modern ballet.

The Day also known as World Dance Day is to celebrate Dance, to revel in the universality of this art form to cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers and bring people together with a common language - Dance.

Global events to mark the day include open-door-courses, exhibitions, and articles concerning all kinds of dance, dance evenings, street shows, and special performances.

Source: GNA