It was a toss-up between the bling and the perfect autumn weather for centre stage at the launch of International Dance Week by Ausdance ACT atop Mount Ainslie on Wednesday morning.

And it wasn’t just Dance Week being celebrated. Today, April 29, is International Dance Day, established in 1982 by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute to be marked annually on the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

Dance identity Elizabeth Cameron Dalman was on hand to deliver the official International Dance Day message, written this year by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Speaking of her chosen art form, Pite said: “We are dancers, all of us. Life moves us; life dances us,” arguing that, in ways distinct from news, documentary, education, opinion, activism and protest, dance can create both resistance and hope.

Hosting the event, Ausdance ACT executive director Cathy Adamek spoke of Canberra’s high per-capita participation in dance, as well as the notable dance figures honoured with street names in the suburb of Whitlam. Among them are her mentor, the late dance artist Keith Bain, and Alan Alder, father of Floeur Alder, one of the key performers in the week’s celebrations. The program includes more than 20 opportunities for the public to participate in dance over the coming week.

ACT MLA Caitlin Tough, representing Arts Minister Michael Pettersson, drew a few laughs as she recounted her own participation in the Junior Rock Eisteddfod in 2004.

All of this was briefly upstaged when dancer Liz Lea, dripping in diamantes, descended from the tower above to speak about her show, Diamonds, coming to the Q in August. The performance celebrates the power of ageing in dance.

She was followed by a  group from the Chameleon Collective and the GOLD dancers, who treated onlookers to a glittering rendition of Dance Me to the End of Love that would have surprised Leonard Cohen.

International Dance Week continues around Canberra until May 6. Full program details are available here

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