Created by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute in 1982,
International Dance Day is celebrated on April 29 each year. We are thrilled to recognize the overwhelming contributions of dance professionals across the country and proud to continue our work advocating on their behalf! We salute them for their extraordinary dedication and their exceptional artistry, and we thank them for the joy they bring to audiences around the world.
"Being a professional dancer for the past 16 years has made me come to terms with certain realities.
1) You miss precious time with your family, many dancers have to move away in order to pursue this path. 2) You are constantly working in the fultile hope of reaching perfection, rest is limited, pains and aches are constant, accidents happen and injuries occur. And 3) At the end of each day, you get go to sleep knowing that tomorrow you will get to do it all over again, and you absolutely LOVE IT.
As a dancer, your hunger for the stage is insatiable, you search for that challenge, you crave inspiration and you become a conduit for all the information available to you on daily basis. Watching and listening to those around you. Whether they're your colleagues, students, teachers, directors or choreographers, you enter a world of endless possibilites.
You have the unique opportunity to work with a community, not only made by dance artists, but by people from around the world. You get exposed to incredible people with amazing cultures and backgrounds, you learn about their lives and upbringing, you create new families and those become your support system.
Being a dancer isn't about a beautiful physique or simply talent, it is about hard work, relentless trials and errors, artistry, knowlege, discipline, work ethic, the ability to communicate with and without words, the will to enrich your life as well as the lives of others. It is a constant learning experience.
So here's to you, here's to us, dance artists... Celebrate your path, celebrate your career, rejoice during the happy times and thrive during the difficult ones. Let your light shine bright and don't let it be diminished, and lastly, keep enjoying the thrill of that single moment of anticipation we get before the curtains go up, the lights are on and we step on that wonderful world that is the stage, because that standing ovation at the end of each perfomance is a celebration of you.
Happy International Dance Day."
André Santos,
Soloist, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
To learn more about how International Dance Day is celebrated around the world, visit
International Theatre Institute (ITI), World Organization for the Performing Arts.