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International Dance Day Message: April 29, 2007 - Sasha Waltz March 15, 2007 One dances on birthdays, at weddings, on the streets, in living rooms, on the stage, behind the scenes. To communicate joy, sorrow, as ritual and borderline experience. Dance is a universal language: emissary for a peaceful world, for equality, tolerance and compassion. Dance teaches us sensibility, consciousness and to pay attention to the moment. Dance is the manifestation of our being alive. Dance is transformation. Dance locates the soul; dance affords the body a spiritual dimension. Dance enables us to feel our body, to rise above, to go beyond, to be another body. To dance is to participate actively in the vibration of the universe. Biography Born in 1963 in Karlsruhe, Germany. She studied dance and choreography in Amsterdam and New York. In 1993 she co-founded her company, Sasha Waltz & Guests, with Jochen Sandig. In 1996 she opened the critically acclaimed Sophiensaele, a theater she co-founded with Sandig. In September 1999, Waltz was named one of the artistic directors of Berlin's Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz where - amongst others - she created the pieces "Körper" (37th 'Theatertreffen' Berlin), 'S' and 'noBody,' the choreographic installation 'Insideout' and 'Impromptus.' In 2005 Sasha Waltz & Guests once again became an independent company, with Jochen Sandig as artistic director. In January 2005 her first opera-choreography 'Dido & Aeneas' had its world premiere at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin. As chairperson of the board of trustees of the Radial Stiftung, Sasha Waltz has been involved in the setting up of a new production and training centre for Music, Dance and the Visual Arts for Berlin called Radialsystem V, opened in September 2006. Background In 1982 the International Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI/UNESCO) founded International Dance Day to be celebrated every year on the 29th of April. The date commemorates the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, who was born in 1727 and was a great reformer of dance. Every year a message from a well-known dance personality is circulated throughout the world. The intention of International Dance Day and the Message is to bring all dance together on this day, to celebrate this art form and revel in its universality, to cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers and bring people together in peace and friendship with a common language - Dance. In 1995, in an effort to unite dance, the International Dance Committee entered into a collaborative effort for the celebration of International Dance Day with World Dance Alliance. Stephanie REGNER Program Assistant General Secretariat of the International Theatre Institute UNESCO - 1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 - FRANCE Tél: (+33)1 45 68 48 80/82 - Fax: (+33)1 45 66 50 40 iti-worldwide.org email: iti3@unesco.org, itiparis@yahoo.com |
