The official message for
Dance Day
29 April 2018
To praise a choreography critics use a plethora of expressions like: innovative, advanced, forward, novel, revolutionary, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, radical, breaking new ground, avant-garde. We have been led to believe that new is inherently good, especially in the arts.
For 2018 I would like to propose a fresh view of the origins. It can be a very modernistic approach of a distant period, or a faithful reconstruction based in historical research, or a creation in-between.
Choreographers can put forward their own image of an ancient period or only a century ago. It is a challenge, they will have to study the sources and stretch their imagination. They can opt for a nostalgic look or an antiquarian one. Dance schools can offer classes and performances under the theme of History: the past, origins, roots, antiquity, precedents.
Too often people think they have created something new simply because they ignore past creations. Confucius said: Study the past if you would define the future.
President of the International Dance Council
CID, UNESCO, Paris
