As part of the International Dance Day celebrations, 450 dancers of twelve nationalities will perform

The three-day celebration of International Dance Day, a globally recognized holiday declared by UNESCO, is approaching. “We will make the Republic dance with a flashmob, an all-day dance program and two gala performances,” says Martin Kolda, the initiator of the event from Art 4 People and the choreographer of this year’s StarDance series.

International Dance Day

International Dance Day is celebrated every year on April 29, to commemorate the birth of dance reformer Jean-Georges Noverre. This year, it falls on Monday, when dancers from different parts of the world and the country will concentrate on Strělecký ostrov in Prague. The program will start here at 2 pm and will offer almost 50 dance performances and over 20 workshops throughout the afternoon. Visitors can thus observe or try dances of various styles for free, from Afrodance and Bachata, through contemporary and street dance to Irish dances and salsa. In the evening there will be 3 dance classes – swing, Latin and Argentine tango. “Everybody dances here side by side throughout the day, from the smallest, for example, from elementary art schools, through advanced students from various dance studios or conservatories, to ordinary people in dance halls and professionals from the largest theater and dance companies. More than 400 dancers take part in the program every year, specifically this year we will see a number of foreign guests, performers from France, Spain, Croatia, Canada or Korea,” explains Martin Kolda.

The entire republic will dance a common choreography

The National Theater will also open its ballet workshop here at 3 p.m., and at 4 p.m. there will be a joint training session at the ballet pole led by ballet masters from all over the Czech Republic. At 5:30 p.m., the celebrations will culminate in a nationwide flashmob, the choreography of which was prepared this year by the finalist of the last series of StarDance, Jakub Mazůch. The instructional video with the choreography has already been viewed on social networks by over 250,000 users, who can sign up on the website to be added to the map where they will dance the choreography.

“A lot of people enjoy dance in a kind of internal way, we are happy about it, but we are afraid to try it or to try something new, for example a different dance style. This year, I would like everyone to try dancing for themselves on International Dance Day. Either with the joint choreography of a flashmob or anywhere in the country where an accompanying program is planned. This will definitely enrich them with a beautiful cultural experience and improve their mood a little,” comments Jakub Mazůch on the International Dance Day celebrations.

Celebrations of the International Day of Dance on Strelec Island

The entire event on Strelec Island will be guided by the presenter Andrea Antony, who will be replaced by Petr Toms Štolba with his band Pekař at the microphone at 7 p.m. Even their names are not far from dance, as a lover of standard dances, Petr competed in dance sports for many years, while Andrea and her colleague Monika Leová entertain the Internet with their dance videos. The aim of the organizers of the event is mainly to raise the visibility of dance as a great physical activity for all ages, and at the same time to attract new viewers to the art of dance.

Dance Gala performance for the discerning

As a harbinger of MDT, two more GALA performances will take place on the weekend of April 27 and 28 at the New Stage of the National Theatre. Specifically, on Saturday, April 27, the audience can look forward to a dramaturgically varied program that will present the young talents of the conservatories, and perhaps reveal the future stars of domestic and foreign ensembles. We will see contemporary stars of ballet and modern dance on stage on Sunday, April 28, as part of the Gala of professional dance companies. A number of star guests from ensembles such as the Ballet of the National Theater Brno, 420PEOPLE, Dekkadancers or from regional theaters in Pilsen, Liberec and others accepted the performance. After several years in Prague, we will also see ballet soloist Michal Krčmár, who has been working as an étoile in the Finnish National Ballet for many years.

“Gala performances are an integral part of the art world. It is a welcome change for the audience, and a chance for the artists to meet old friends on stage or make new contacts. Often these connections serve a higher purpose, for example in various charity events, or create networking opportunities where we learn from each other’s past mistakes and create better conditions for the future. It wouldn’t hurt to have more such gala performances, ideally not only in culture but also in politics, in work, in life,” concludes Michal Krčmář, who, thanks to his varied participation in international gala performances and festivals, was awarded the title “Premio Capri Danza Internazionale” for international dance merits.

MDT 2024 programme:

27/04/2024 Gala of dance conservatories (tickets on sale)

28/04/2024 Gala of professional dance groups (tickets on sale)

29/04/2024 All-day program on Strelecky Island in Prague (free)

14:00 dance show
15:00 ballet workshop of the National Theatre
15:30 dance show
16:00 training at the ballet pole with ballet masters
16:45 dance show
17:30 FLASHMOB
18:00 Gala show
19:00 concert of the Pekař band
+ workshops during the afternoon and evening dance classes

You can find the complete program on the event website www.mezinarodnidentance.cznews on Facebook or Instagram.

The partners of the event are:

Art 4 People production, National Theater, City Hall of the City of Prague, Kletch, State Culture Fund of the Czech Republic, Terracon, Grishko, Tüchler, Městská žást Praha 1, Malostranská beseda, Nadace život últece and Floorwings. The media partners are the Art Zone and Dance Context.

Source: Art4People