Friday 29 April 2016 marks International Dance Day, which is being recognised in Luxembourg by a video produced by the Theater Federatioun transmitting a message of peace and friendship through the words and movements of national dancers.
International Dance Day was established in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute as a means of commemorating the birthday of French dancer and ballet master, Jean-Georges Noverre, whilst each year the message of a well-known dance personality is circulated and celebrated. Spanish choreographer and dancer Israel Galván was the author of last year's message and for 2016, it is Samoan choreographer Salā Lemi Ponifasio who is being recognised with the message 'Karakia':
touch the cosmos
the source of our divinity
illuminating
the face of the ancestors
so we can see our children
woven above beside below
unite all within
our flesh and bones
and memory
the Earth is turning
humans in mass migration
turtles gather in silent preparation
the heart is injured
make dance
a movement of love
a movement of justice
the light of truth.
Salā Lemi Ponifasio is a Samoan choreographer, stage director, designer and artist who in 1995 founded MAU, named after the Samoan word meaning a declaration to the truth of a matter, as a way of bringing together communities and artists from all over the world.
Drawing on a palette of black, inverted, dreamlike images; the ceremonial, sacrificial body; and a visceral space of sound, light and darkness, Ponifasio aims to explore various dimensions of consciousness. Last year he produced works for the Venice Biennale 56th Visual Arts Exhibition, the Luminato Festival in Toronto and in 2014 created 'I AM' for the 100th Anniversary of WW1, which premiered at the Avignon Festival.
As a representative of the International Theatre Institute in Luxembourg, Theater Federatioun has contributed to this message through a short film, evoking the individual experiences of dancers of different origins and what the art form means to them through the words and movements from each, performed in different locations around Luxembourg including the Rotondes in the Bonnevoie district.
Watch the video below:
Photo by MAU (Salā Lemi Ponifasio). Video by YouTube/Theater Federatioun
