About 1,000 young dancers, dance teachers, educators and academics are gathering in Taipei this weekend for the launch of the week-long “2012 Global Dance Summit: Dance, Young People and Change” gathering being held at Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) in Guandu (關渡).
The first global dance summit to focus on young people and their teachers also combines the annual meetings of the World Dance Alliance and Dance and the Child International. It is the first time such a summit has been held in Asia. The event features classes, workshops, master classes and presentations for young dancers and teachers, as well as performances by some of Taiwan’s best-known small dance companies.
The summit will focus the role dance plays in young people’s lives and also on approaches to learning and teaching the art, as well as devising a dance curriculum for young people.
“This is a unique opportunity for dance educators and young people to meet and work together with international colleagues,” said Wang Yun-yu (王雲幼), a professor at TNUA and World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific president.
The public is invited to attend the hour-long opening ceremony today at TNUA, which begins with a parade by young participants at 5:50pm.
As part of the summit, there will also be series of performances at Metropolitan Hall in Taipei next week, featuring eight dance groups from around Asia and Australia, which are also open to the public.
The “2012 International Festival of Dance Academies” opens on Wednesday with performances by groups from Purchase College in New York and the Beijing Dance Academy.
Thursday night’s show features The Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries, Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. Friday night will see performers from Kobe College in Japan, the University of Auckland in New Zealand and the Taipei National University of the Arts. Saturday night is a gala performance featuring pieces from all eight schools.
All the shows at Metropolitan Hall begin at 7:30pm and tickets are NT$600, available through the National Theater Concert Hall box office or online at www.artsticket.com.tw.
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