DANZ gets Christchurch dancing for NZ Dance Week

Wednesday, 11 April 2018, 10:12 am
Press Release: DANZ

Media release

DANZ gets Christchurch dancing for NZ Dance Week

From 21-29 April 2018 dancers and dance lovers across New Zealand will be making movement and celebrating the annual New Zealand Dance Week (NZDW).

NZDW was established by Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ) in 2016 as a way to celebrate local dance talents and to get our communities moving and engaged in the diverse world of dance. It is an open-access platform aimed to raise the awareness of the art-form, to grow dance audiences and highlight the positive benefits it has on community, physical health, mental well-being and the spirit.

NZDW will be launched for the first time in Christchurch on Saturday 21 April, at the Dance Showcase and Party, which forms part of the annual New Zealand Brazilian Dance Festival, organised by NZouk Dance. A day of dance at the YMCA’ on Sunday 22 April, will really get Christchurch dancing, with workshops running from 10am to 4pm, and the ‘New Zealand Dance Week Showcase’ at Papa Hou at 6pm, featuring local community, cultural and professional dance groups all performing together under the one roof.

Anton Carter, DANZ Chief Executive says; ‘NZDW is an exciting platform that anyone can participate in and help promote. Dance is a powerful force that moves, inspires and transforms lives. From contemporary, to ballet, to swing, to hip hop, to Latin, to Siva, to haka, the list goes on.’

‘DANZ is thrilled to work with NZouk to launch our 3rd NZ Dance Week event. The annual New Zealand Brazilian Dance Festival, has grown over the years into a world-class festival bringing artists and dancers to Christchurch from all over the world. We applaud their efforts to build and grow a Brazilian Zouk community in the city. This is a massive opportunity for NZ Dance Week to reach a brand new audience,’ says Carter.

Tracey Saunders, Project Coordinator for the Dance at the YMCA event says; ‘The New Zealand Dance Week Showcase is going to provide a fantastic platform for local dance groups to connect, perform together and hopefully inspire audience members to take up some form of dance. There’s no other event in Christchurch at the moment that draws together dancers from such a broad range of dance disciplines. It’s an awesome opportunity for the groups involved to appreciate each other’s dance forms and to impress the audience with the calibre of talent to be found in the local community, cultural and professional dance groups we have here.’

Dance workshops, outdoor activities, dance film screenings and showcases all across the country are just the tip of the iceberg for the 2018 event. Dance companies, choreographers, studios, schools, teachers, independent artists and recreational practitioners have participated in previous years, bringing joy to their communities and demonstrating their passion for the world to see.

‘We want people to join in the celebrations this year and be a part of the growing movement to elevate the wonders of dance in Aotearoa to the world,’ says Carter.

ENDS

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