Did you know?
Get your dancing shoes on for a tango or a rumba – it’s International Dance Day.
If you want to shake your hips or move your feet, then look out for International Dance Day on April 29th. It’s a global celebration of dance in all its forms, so see who’s dancing near you.
International Dance Day is now in its 33rd year and takes place annually on 29th April, the birth date of Jean-Georges Noverre, a French dancer and ballet master. When the International Dance Council (CID) based in Paris wanted to found a world day to recognize the importance of dance, it was his birthday that was the choice for the annual event. He was born in 1727 and died at the age of 83 having reformed ballet into the art form we still recognize today.
The CID’s reasons for introducing the day were threefold: to revel in the universal forms of dance; to cross political, cultural and ethnic barriers and thirdly to unite people together in the universal language of dance. In 2010, the president of CID, Prof. Alkis Raftis, stated, ‘For vividly illustrating cultural diversity, for embodying rapprochement, there is no better means than dance.’
Each year, the CID asks a well-known choreographer or dancer to deliver a message for the world and this is then distributed globally to over 100,000 dance professionals in 200 countries. The first International Dance Day message was written by Henrik Neubauer, the Slovenian ballet dancer and choreographer. Eight years later, choreographer and leader of the American avant-garde dance movement Merce Cunningham was responsible. In 2007, Sasha Waltz the Karlsruhe-born dancer and choreographer, wrote the message. Last year Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-min, the founder of the Cloud Gate dance theatre gave out the message to be delivered around the world.
If you would like to get in the mood, then watch some dancers in the UK celebrating International Dance Day by clicking here.
To find out more about International Dance Day, click here.
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If you would like to use International Dance Day as a topic in your classroom from A1.1 upwards, then we have provided you with two activities. You’ll find them in the following Teacher’s notes and on the Worksheet.
Teacher’s notes
Activity 1: Twelve dances (Level A1.1 upwards) (15+ minutes)
Copy Activity 1, Twelve dances (see first page of Worksheet) – one for each student. Ask students if they know what is celebrated on 29 April. You could mime a dance to help them guess. Explain that it is International Dance Day. Give each student a copy of Twelve dances and explain that in Part 1 of the activity there are twelve names of dances in the word search. Find the first name ‘zumba’ along the top together. Then give students time to complete the word search. Check the answers together in class.
Tell students to look at Part 2 of the activity. Ask students if they know where the zumba originates. (It comes from Colombia.) Tell them to work in pairs and complete Part 2 of the activity. Check the answers together in class. Ask students if they know any other dances, and if so, where they originate.
Key:
Part 1:
T H J O M Z U M B A F S P S A G J S V L L X L A M P O L K A A T D M B B G D A M M W T B O D Z B F B E I A A N R U M B A N S N A W A L T Z D C T G B J I V E E A O V O B A L L E T E
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Part 2:
Argentina: tango Bohemia: polka Brazil: lambada, samba Colombia: zumba Cuba: rumba, mambo France / Russia: ballet Germany / Austria: waltz Spain: flamenco United States of America: jive, twist
Activity 2: The Hokey Cokey (Level A1.1 upwards) (15+ minutes)
This is an energizer and it is lots of fun. You could use it to change the pace of your lesson or at the end of a lesson. And don’t worry that people think it’s a children’s song – in the UK lots of adults dance the Hokey Cokey and have a lot of fun.
You can watch a video with the music and words here.
And watch Prince Charles trying the Hokey Cokey here.
Copy Hokey Cokey (see second page of Worksheet) – one for each student. Go through the verses (see next page) while students are still sitting in the classroom. Demonstrate the actions. Find a ‘dancing’ space where all the students can stand in a circle and slowly go through the first verse, making your song actions clear. Sing the rest of the verses showing the actions mentioned in the text.
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The Hokey Cokey
You put your left arm in (put your left arm into the circle) Your left arm out (put your left arm behind you) In, out, in, out and you shake it all about (move your left arm in and out quickly and then shake it) You do the hokey cokey and you turn around (put your own hands together and turn around on the spot) That's what it's all about (clap hands three times)
Chorus: Whoa, hokey hokey cokey (3x) (hold hands and move into centre of circle, three times) Knees bend, arms stretch, Ra! Ra! Ra! (follow instructions and then clap hands on each ‘Ra!’)
You put your right arm in (all with action like above) Your right arm out In, out, in, out and you shake it all about You do the hokey cokey and you turn around That's what it's all about ... Hey!
You put your left leg in … (all with action again)
You put your right leg in … (all with action again)
You put your whole self in … (all with action again)
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Worksheet
Activity 1: Twelve dances
T H J O M Z U M B A F S P S A G J S V L L X L A M P O L K A A T D M B B G D A M M W T B O D Z B F B E I A A N R U M B A N S N A W A L T Z D C T G B J I V E E A O V O B A L L E T E
Part 1: Find the names of twelve dances in the word search above.
Part 2: Which dance comes from which country?
Argentina: ______Bohemia: ______Brazil: ______Colombia: ______Cuba: ______France / Russia: ______Germany / Austria: ______Spain: ______United States of America: ______
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Activity 2: The Hokey Cokey
You put your left arm in Your left arm out In, out, in, out and you shake it all about You do the hokey cokey and you turn around That's what it's all about.
Chorus: Whoa, hokey hokey cokey (3x) Knees bend, arms stretch, Ra! Ra! Ra!
You put your right arm in Your right arm out In, out, in, out and you shake it all about You do the hokey cokey and you turn around That's what it's all about ... Hey!
Chorus: Whoa, hokey hokey cokey (3x) Knees bend, arms stretch, Ra! Ra! Ra!
You put your left leg in …
You put your right leg in …
You put your whole self in …
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