Dance for Development

Dansol High School. Lagos.

Dance is a form of expression - non-verbal communication - that has been drawn upon in various contexts around the world to raise awareness, shape attitudes, and inspire people to address development issues such as human rights, health, and HIV/AIDS. This Drum Beat issue highlights a few of the initiatives, thinking pieces, and resources that illustrate this approach to social change.

DANCE TO UNITE AND HEAL: HUMAN RIGHTS:   
Right to Dance: Dancing for Rights 
                                                           by Naomi M. Jackson (Ed.)

According to this collection of papers written by dance scholars, practitioners, and artists, there appear to be connections between dance and human rights issues, most frequently in the context of dance being used as a tool for inciting people to violence, as a means of humiliation, and as a means of uniting communities in times of hardship. Dance has been employed as a nationalistic propaganda tool, as a means of healing individuals and groups after traumatic events, and as a form of theatrical expression and education by artists/choreographers who have undergone or witnessed gross violations of human rights.

3. International Dance Day

Introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council (CID), an umbrella organisation within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Dance Day is celebrated each year on April 29 to increase awareness of the importance of dance among the general public, as well as to persuade governments all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education. The announcement for the 2007 Day reads, "No child should be left without the opportunity to learn and to practice dance. Access to the art consitutes a right for every person, and children in particular. This right should be protected, in order to help meet their basic needs and reach their full potential. CID upholds dance instruction by qualified teachers at all levels of formal education, because dance constitutes a strong foundation for a person's well being."

culled from : Dance for Developement  Submitted by dheimann on September 20, 2007
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