Decades of Dance ..Dance Festival- October 9-15.2011

DECADES OF DANCE
DANCE FESTIVAL 2011
9-16 October 2011


In 2009, the Ministry mounted an exhibition entitled ‘Decades of Dance’ which featured Dance Companies of Trinidad and Tobago from 1968 to 2008. The exhibition was mounted on the exterior of the Culture Division office at 51 – 55 Frederick Street, which now serves as the head office to the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism. It featured:
• Five Decades of Dance companies of Trinidad Tobago in performance photos
• A profile of the Company
• A profile of the founding Artistic Director

This was stage one of the Division’s strategy to bring dance back into focus and more importantly, support the development of the art form through workshops and seminars and contribute to audience development for this fine art.

The Dance Festival 2011 will provide dance practitioners in Trinidad and Tobago with training in dance techniques; exposure to dance forms traditional to these regions; an opportunity to share experiences, styles, choreography techniques and opportunities to promote and advance not only the art of dance but the Caribbean as the Mecca of Cultural Diversity. The Caribbean dance festival also gives Trinidad and Tobago an opportunity to increase audience appreciation and interest in the dance as an art form.

The festival is envisioned as a pioneering event that will create an enabling environment for the presentation and discourse of dance and the reaffirmation of the existing ties between the regional dance community and cultural workers alike.

OVERALL GOAL
1. To recognize and present a broad range of dance styles towards developing and improving standards in the field of dance in Trinidad and Tobago, through networking and discourse amongst dance practitioners, dance enthusiasts and cultural researchers of the Caribbean
OBJECTIVES
1. To revitalize dance as a dramatic art-form in the Trinidad and Tobago.
2. To expose dancers to technically sound practices through workshops and performances that would encourage higher professional standards.
3. To provide young persons with the opportunity to participate in dance education and performance amongst regional practitioners.
4. To present three quality dance performances to the public of Trinidad and Tobago.

 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
It is proposed that the Dance Festival 2011 take the form of a week of dance activities to be held at different venues throughout Trinidad and Tobago. The festival is divided into three major components, each of which supports one or two of the objectives of the festival.
1. The first major component will be the performances by the host and visiting dance companies. The signal performances will be held in Port of Spain and San Fernando.
2. The second major component of the festival will be a symposium to exchange views and ideas on the state of dance in the Caribbean today and the way forward. This forum will bring together dance practitioners as well as cultural scholars, activists and entrepreneurs from the participating countries.
3. The third major component will be dance workshops on selected dance forms and styles with an emphasis on folk dance. The workshops will be held at the main performance centers and at selected schools.