MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of Capiz residents from different walks of life danced around Capiz Provincial Capitol in celebration of International Dance Day recently.
Organized by the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the festival featured over 32,000 residents from different venues. The event was dubbed as Unity Dance as part of the Capiztahan 2023.
The NCCA Unity Dance is conceptualized and choreographed by innovative and visionary Director Shirley Halili Cruz.
In an interview with Philstar.com, Cruz said the Unity Dance is an advocacy utilizing arts, dance in particular, to unite the diverse cultures in our country and globally.
“We recognize the power of dance in radiating joy, and in giving prime value to the positive dimension of life. We are hoping that people around the world will be united toward a common good of our global community. Personally, I hope this can be my simple legacy for building social cohesion in our beloved country,” she said.
“International Dance Day is a global celebration of the role of dance in the lives of people. Dance is the language of our soul. As such, it creatively tells the story of our human journey from birth to death. The International Dance Day was founded by the International Theater Institute to call on organizations and government agencies to provide support to the dance community and create activities to promote appreciation of the public about the value of dance,” she said.
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