Finding a suitable festival or competition according to the standards of the dancers
There are many different styles or categories of dancing. Some festivals focus more on a specific style such as ballet, and we assist the group to find the best festival.
General categories could be:
- Classic ballet
- Folk dance, folk stylized dance, ethnic dance
- Ballroom dance
- Sport dance (hip hop, disco, techno, street, electric boogie, break dance, pop locking and other street styles)
- Modern dance (jazz modern, neoclassic etc.)
- Variety dance
- Social dance (Argentine Tango, balboa, bachata, boogie, waltz, West Coast swing, zouk, Irish set dancing, country music, kizomba, lindy hop, machine, merengue, reggaeton, rueda, salsa, samba de gafieira, Semba, forró, hustle, and others).
- Most festivals have different age groups for each category which we need to keep in mind.
- We assist the group leader when there is a choice of master classes and workshops.
- We arrange friendship concerts and performances before or after the festival.
- We plan the itinerary in such a way that the group visit a few countries, building in some fun elements as well as destinations offering good value for money.
One of the most well-known ways to express emotion, whether that be anger, joy, sadness or pain, is through dance. People dance in order to celebrate, commemorate and/or they dance in order to prepare for some ritual. Whatever the reason, dance is an art form that is amazing to look at so here are 25 amazing dances from around the world:
Kekak Trance Dance
This Indonesian dance was originally performed in order to communicate with ancestral spirits, but has since then been interwoven with the Indian epic known as the Ramayana.
Tango
Tango is an Argentinean dance known to be one of the most difficult to master. Nevertheless, it never fails to amaze each time is performed.
Capoeira
A Brazilian half dance, half martial arts; Capoiera can be described as astounding, astonishing and fascinating, among others adjectives.
Celestial Dance
This Cambodian dance enacts the sagas that have been in the country for thousands of years. It was even carved into some parts of the Angkor Wat.
Aerial Dance
Aerial Dance is an interesting form of expression that involves getting “attached” to the ceiling, thus letting performers explore space in three-dimensions.
Ballet
Known for its beauty and grace; Ballet is a dance which originated during the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th century. Later on, it developed into a concert dance.
Belly Dance
This dance is also known as “Raqs Sharqi” and is traditionally a solo dance done by women. This Middle Eastern dance was taught within families and performed during celebrations.
Break Dance
Also known as “B-boying”; This athletic and extremely visual solo dance form originated among African American and Puerto Rican youths in New York City during the early 1970s.
Flamenco
Flamenco is an expressive dance which was originally developed from the songs of Andalucia in Spain, wherein it expressed both the blessings as well as hardships of daily life.
Bharata Natyam Bharata
Natyam was developed over centuries in the temples in Southern India. It was handed down as a living tradition from one generation to the next under the Devadasi system, wherein women were dedicated in serving the deity as dancers and musicians.
Tap Dance
Tap Dance’s name comes from the tapping sound that’s made when small metal plates on a dancer’s shoes make contact with a hard floor. It was first seen in the US during the late 19th century.
Waltz
This is danced to slow, melodic music and it requires the dancers to execute fluid and delicate movement.
Salsa
Salsa is a dance form with origins from the Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban dance. This partner dance is quite sensual in its form since it’s known for having flirtatious movements.
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas.
Swing
“Swing dance” is most commonly known as a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s. This is the blanket term for dances such as the Boogie Woogie, Jitterbug and Lindy Hop, among others.
Fandango
One of the primary dances in Portugal, it involves the dancers tapping their feet and quickly changing their positions.
Cancan
This is a high-energy as well as physically demanding music hall dance usually performed by female dancers in chorus line while wearing costumes that have long skirts, petticoats and black stocking. Its primary features are skirt lifting and manipulation, high kicking and suggestive body movement.
Kabuki
Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama that is known for the stylisation of its performance and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Lion Dance
This is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture wherein the performers mimic how a lion moves while wearing a lion costume.
Irish Stepdance
Casually known as riverdance thanks to the popularity of an interval act in 1994 called Riverdance; this dance can be done solo or by a group and is characterized by stiffened upper bodies while performing quick and intricate footwork.
Tinikling
This pre-Spanish dance from the Philippines involves two people tapping, beating and sliding bamboo poles on the ground as well as against one another in coordination while stepping over and in between the poles.
Cossack Dance
Also known as Gopak, it is considered to be the official dance of the Ukraine and is composed of visually and technically amazing acrobatic feats. These include jumps and spins, and are usually the highlight of the performance.
Shaolin Monk Dance
With a tradition that’s more than 1,500 years old, these have combined their knowledge, discipline and their martial art in order to make this dance form their very own.
Kathak
Kathak is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances which originated from India. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathakars or storytellers.
Bollywood Dance
This dance combines both Indian dance and music with big Hollywood movie-style set. You can expect the dresses to not just be bright but colorful too.
“To dance is like speaking in silence. It is to say everything, without saying a word… “
“If dancing were any easier, it would be called football. “
“Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythm of your life. “
“I was a ballerina. I had to quit after I injured a groin muscle. It wasn’t mine… “
“Bleeding feet will bond us. “
“The mother of the dance is the melody, because she gives you everything, tells you everything you need to know, like a mother.
The father of the dance is the rhythm and he is the strong one, the leader, the authority, as a father should be! “
“Music is the language of the soul; dance is the language of the body. “
“Movement without meaning is just exercise. “
“To touch, to move, to inspire. This is the true gift of dance. “
“Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn. “
“Dance to express – not to impress. “