On 29 April every year, the international dance community celebrates International Dance Day.
We celebrate our art form's ability to cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers and bring people together with a common language—dance.
Thanks to the International Theatre Insititute's international dance committee and the World Dance Alliance who select an outstanding choreographer or dancer to write the message.
Did you know Australian dancer, choreographer and director, Stephen Page, wrote the 2004 International Dance Day message? Here's Stephen's message and a selection of inspirational video messages from the past few years.
Stephen Page's 2004 International Dance Day message
Dance is the original most ancient form of human expression. Through the body and physical language, dance has a powerful connection with the emotional and spiritual worlds.
In traditional Aboriginal culture, dance is the core, like a kind of sacred medicine. Dance is grounded, connected to the spirit of Mother Earth. Unless you surrender to the dance you can't hunt quietly. It is an integral part of human existence.
When I create a new dance work I ask the dancers to swallow and digest the traditional seed, to sense the innate code within so that we can transform the traditional essence to the contemporary world.
Dance is the universal language. It represents human identity and a celebration of the human spirit. Dance is the artistic heart of kinship. It is a sacred universal remedy.