GRENADA – The Dance Grenada Competition returns for its fifth season on the attractive island of Grenada. This yr’s pageant, themed “Constructing Resilience, Sustainability, and Creative Freedom: Celebrating 5 Years and Past,” acknowledges this important achievement and the willpower of dancers and artists around the globe.
From October 17-21, 2024, Dance Grenada will mark its five-year anniversary with a vibrant five-day pageant that includes eight immersive workshops and two participating panel discussions led by famend dance professionals.
Tribute to Veni Vwai La Grenade
This yr’s particular occasions embrace the debut of the inaugural Dance Grenada live performance and a tribute to Veni Vwai La Grenade, a revered Grenadian dance firm celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Attendees also can benefit from the return of the favored worldwide vendor’s market and the annual island tour, providing a wealthy fusion of tradition, artistry, and genuine native experiences.
“As I mirror on the place we began 5 years in the past to now, I’m grateful to have created a group that may collect and change tradition, creativity and connectivity via dance. This pageant brings collectively proficient artists from throughout the globe to have interaction in and share the worth of African diasporic dances, which are sometimes neglected and barely considered as critical artwork types when in comparison with their Western counterparts,” mentioned Founder and Creative Director Shola Okay. Roberts, a Caribbean dance knowledgeable and professor at Arizona State College.
Preserving African diasporic Dance Types
Dance Grenada is essential to uplifting and preserving African diasporic dance types corresponding to Grenadian Folks Dance like Shango, Afro-Cuban and Grenadian Masquerade. The pageant options worldwide dancers who research numerous dances. In addition they participate in additional studying alternatives. These actions spotlight the significance of the inventive financial system in Grenada, the Caribbean, and past.
Dance courses shall be taught by well-known dancers. This consists of Grenada’s personal Keith Williams. He has led masterclasses within the Caribbean and the UK. Grenadian Broadway star Oneika Phillips may also train. Rene Arneaud has toured with soca stars Machel Montano and KES the Band. Otis Donovan Herring simply returned from a tour with R&B teams Xscape and SWV.
The pageant retains the cultural heritage of dance alive. It additionally attracts new visitors to the island. These vacationers search for inventive actions whereas having fun with the island’s magnificence.
“Dance has all the time been a vibrant a part of Grenada’s cultural traditions and a mirrored image of our deep African heritage, which has been preserved and maintained via generations. The Dance Grenada Competition is a robust celebration of this legacy, permitting us to showcase our cultural variety and expertise to the world,” mentioned CEO of The Grenada Tourism Authority, Petra Roach. “The Grenada Tourism Authority is dedicated to supporting initiatives like this, as they not solely enrich the lives of our individuals but additionally supply guests an genuine glimpse into the soul of our island. We imagine that nurturing such festivals helps maintain our heritage whereas enhancing Grenada’s enchantment as a cultural tourism vacation spot,” she mentioned.
The Dance Grenada Competition is a central hub for dance innovation, scholarship, and entrepreneurship. It celebrates its fifth season at an vital time for the cultural and artistic industries. This comes after the current creation of the Grenada Workplace of Artistic Affairs.
“As individuals of the diaspora, our existence is sustained via our interplay with others. After we commune, it creates a way of belonging that feeds the vessel that goes into the worldwide group to thrive. No matter age, race, or ethnic background, the sensation of house is palpable to all who step into Dance Grenada,” mentioned Roberts.
For extra data on Dance Grenada and how one can buy tickets to this dance pageant, please go to www.dancegrenada.com.
