It's International Dance Day

Did you know that April 29th is International Dance Day? Founded in 1982 by UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, the date honors the birthday of 18th century ballet pioneer Jean-Georges Noverre.

 

Each year the ITI commissions an artist to create an International Dance Day message for worldwide circulation. This year’s message is from French choreographer and Compagnie Käfig director Mourad Merzouki, known for his inventive blend of hip hop, contemporary dance and martial arts. As dancer Teddy Verardo performs an excerpt from Merzouki’s Boxe Boxe, the choreographer expresses his profound gratitude and reverence for dance, “with its singular force to eliminate social and ethnic distinctions, leaving but the movement of bodies in their essence, of human beings returning to their pure expression, unique and shared.”