The World Dance Day was established today in 1982 by the Dance Committee of UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute (DITH), according to the date of birth of the contemporary ballet’s creator Jean-Georges Nover (1727 – 1810).
Dance uses our body, through which all muscle groups are mobilized, while at the same time dancing strengthens our emotional world since we feel more liberated. The expressive ability given through movement and melody, lead to the release of physical tension, the reduction of anxiety and all these shield us both physically and mentally.
In ancient civilizations, human movement was directly related to art, religion and knowledge since it had a strong presence in everyday life either in the form of telling a story or by entertaining visitors or by highlighting their sports skills. Essentially, we could see the dimensions of social life and the way they were portrayed through dance. However, at this point, we should refer to sound and music, perfectly connected to dance. Composers Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev wrote musical themes that were attributed to ballet and resulted in unique magic.
Great names of dancers left their mark and made history on the world stage because of the immense love they had for art combined with their undeniable talent. A typical example is the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, the Polish-born Vaclav Nizinski and finally one of the greatest treble ballerinas of the 20th century known as “the dancing swan” by Anna Pavlova. All of them world-renowned artists who left the audience speechless. Their dedication, creativity and absolute love led to the emerge of the uniqueness of art dancing.
Dance… a unique expression of art. But also for all of us who are not professional dancers, dancing is the joy we give to our bodies and our mental uplift. So let’s dance!
Photo credit: Khoa Vo