WITH MORE THAN 1,600 dance professionals and performers - representing 76 dance organisations from across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Americas - participating in 190 performances, workshops and conferences, the Hong Kong Dance Festival 2006 promises to be the largest dance event in Hong Kong yet.
Organised by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance and running from June 8 to 18, the main aim of this performance arts bonanza is not only to bring the international dance community together, but also to spread the message that dance is for everyone.
It all began as the International Festival of Dance Academies 20 years ago, organised by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The event brought to the city a range of dance performances by students from reputable conservatories around the world, as well as conferences that served as forums for idea exchanges among dance academics and professionals.
It was such a success that in 1990 the World Dance Alliance was founded. Alliance members of the hosting region organises the event.
The International Festival of Dance Academies (IFDA) has been organised in various countries since and on June 8 it will return to where it all began to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
To mark the occasion, funding has been secured from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to further beef up the programme and transform it into the Hong Kong Dance Festival, with International Festival of Dance Academies performances and conferences as part of a bigger event.
Hong Kong Dance Alliance's Helen Ng Han-bing said the event was rich in terms of scale, the calibre of participants and the quality of the performances that were open to the public.