International Dance Day is celebrated every year on 29th April to promote art and culture, to raise awareness among public regarding the art of dance.

International Dance Day: History

In 1982 the Dance Committee of ITI founded International Dance Day to be celebrated every year on the 29th April. This day dance is celebrated globally The date 29 April was chosen because it is the birthday of famed French dance artist Jean-Georges Noverre, who was born in 1727, a French dancer, ballet master and a great reformer of dance.

The goals of International Dance Day are

To promote dance in all its forms across the world.
To make people aware of the value of dance in all its forms.
To enjoy dance in all its forms for its own sake.
To share the joy of dance with others.

Learning to dance is always fun, and usually pretty good exercise. There are lots of different types of dances you could learn to do - contemporary, cultural, street - the list is endless.

WE CHALLENGE YOU

Your challenge is to practice a new dance or participate in a funny dance and share it with us.

2020 Message

Gregory Vuyani MAQOMA, South Africa (Dancer, actor, choreographer and dance educator)

Biography of Gregory Vuyani (pdf courtesy of International Theatre Institute)

A Message From Gregory Vuyani (pdf courtesy of International Theatre Institute)

WE LIKE TO MOVE IT!

Use this wonderful pack which combines a PowerPoint and Flashcards to help you teach a series of movements to create a dance. The PowerPoint has step by step instructions to help the children create a dance routine or sequence of steps.

PowerPoint

Flashcard

THOUGHT OF YOU

This beautiful animation tells the story of love and loss. Could you use this as inspiration for your own dance activities?

ACTIVITIES BASED ON THOUGHT OF YOU

English

Think of words and phrases to describe the movements in this video.
Who are the characters in the video? How are they connected?
What questions would you ask the characters if you had a chance?
Pause the video at different points and think of ways to describe how each of the characters might be feeling.
Think about what happens next to each of the characters.

Computing

Use Pivot Stick Animator (or other animation software) to create an animation of a character dancing.
Take digital photos of people dancing and use these as the starting point for your own drawings / storyboards / animations of dancing.

Art

Pause this video at different points and try to recreate the poses of the characters. Look at the lines that the artist has used to animate them.
Look at pictures / videos of people dancing (or take your own) and use these to inspire your own art work.

Physical education

Choreograph a dance that could be used as the basis for a similar animation. Could you use the song from this video in your dance?
Choose your own song and create a dance that tells a story

story time: Giraffe’s Can’t Dance Animation Movie

ACTIVITY IDEAS

Dance: Key Stage 1- Time To Move (External Link)
KS2 Music/Dance/Drama/History: World War 1 Performance Pack (External Link)
Music/Dance/Drama/History: Great Fire of London Performance Pack (External Link)
Use a book as a stimulus to create a dance sequence - We have previously used Matilda, Doing the Animal Bop and Gruffalo as a stimulus in school.
Do you have any family/residents/team members from around the world? Discuss, listen to and show various dance styles from around the world - this can then be done again and again with the use of the IPad/ WIFI, CDs, DVDs and demos.

DANCE AND SING ALONG!

You could even dance and sing along with Mr Hawkins.