History
"International Dance Day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council (CID, Conseil International de la Danse), a UNESCO partner NGO, and is celebrated on April 29
every year. The date is not linked to a particular person or a
particular form of dance, although incidentally it is also the day when
the French dancer and balletmaster 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."
~Wikipedia
PRESENT DAY
Every year, the president of the CID sends the official message for Dance Day which circulate in every country of the world. This year the message was from one deserving French Dancer and choreographer Mourad Merzouki!
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| Mourad Merzouki |
MOURAD MERZOUKI
Born in Lyon in 1973, Mourad Merzouki
began practicing martial arts and circus arts at the age of seven.
When he was fifteen, he encountered hip-hop culture for the first time
and through it, he discovered dance.
He quickly decided to develop this form of street
art while also experimenting with other choreographic styles,
particularly with other dance artists Maryse Delente, Jean-François
Duroure and Josef Nadj.
The wealth of his experiences fed his desire to
direct artistic projects, blending hip hop with other disciplines. It
is what he did in 1989 with Kader Attou, Eric Mezino and Chaouki Saïd
when he created his first company ‘Accrorap’.
In 1994 the company performed Athina during Lyon’s Biennial Dance Festival; it was a triumph that brought street dance to the stage.
Merzouki’s travels have led him into unchartered
territory, where dance can be a powerful means of communication. In
order to develop his own artistic style and sensitivity, Merzouki
established his own company, Käfig, in 1996.
In January 2006, the Company Käfig began residing in
Espace Albert Camus in Bron. This linked theatre with the festival
Karavel, created in 2007 by Mourad Merzouki, programming notably around
10 hip hop companies and other events in the city.
In parallel, he imagined and conceived a new place
of choreographic creation and development, which led to Pôle Pik
opening its doors in Bron in 2009.
In June 2009, Mourad Merzouki was appointed
director of the Centre chorégraphique de Créteil et du Val de Marne.
He continues to develop his projects there, with an accent on openness
to the world. In 18 years, the choreographer has created 22
productions, and his company gives on average 150 performances per year
around the world.
COURTESY OF www.international-dance-day.org
MESSAGE FROM MOURAD MERZOUKI
Every artist takes pride in his art.Every artist will always defend the art form whose encounter has changed his life.For that which he has sought and lost and for that which he has the
burning desire to share: be it the echo of a voice, the discovered
word, the interpretation of a text for humanity, the music without which
the universe will stop speaking to us, or the movement which opens the
doors to grace.
I have, for dance, not only the pride of a dancer
and choreographer, but profound gratitude. Dance gave me my lucky break.
It has become my ethics by virtue of its discipline and provided the
means through which I discover the world daily.
Closer to me than anything else, it gives me
strength each day through the energy and generosity as only dance can.
Its poetry comforts me.
Could I say that I wouldn’t exist without dance?
Without the capacity for expression it has given me? Without the
confidence I have found in it to overcome my fears, to avoid dead ends? Thanks to dance, immersed in the beauty and
complexity of the world, I have become a citizen. A peculiar citizen who
reinvents the social codes in the course of his encounters, remaining
true to the values of the hip-hop culture which transforms negative
energy into a positive force.
I live and breathe dance daily as an honour. But I
am living with this honour deeply concerned. I witness around me the
loss of bearings and the inability of some of the youth from the
working class, growing up in tension and frustration, to imagine their
future. I am one of them; so are we all. I am driven, perhaps more than
others, by setting an example, to help them fuel their lust for life. For isn’t society richer with the richness of each of us? Culture, more than any discourse, unites. So have
courage and take risks despite the obstacles and the hatred with which
you will no doubt be confronted; the beauty of the world will always be
by your side. Like dance has been for me. 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.
I would like to end by quoting René Char whose words remind me daily to not let anyone confine us to scripted roles.
“Push your luck, hold on tight to your good fortune, and take your risk. Watching you, they will get used to it.”
So try, fail, start all over again but above all, dance, never stop dancing!
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| Mourad Merzouki: so try, fail,start all over againbut above all, dance ,never stop dancing! |
Dance is undeniably beautiful and in its existence we break barriers and build strong societies with a definite culture. check out the video version of the message here, its definately a romance in movement.
Check out the reactions on DSI's status update on International dance day here
Fiona miller cyrus: Dancerz always bring the picture of music out...
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