SAARC Cultural Festival on Traditional Dance

Culture within the South Asian Region is rich, diverse and is flavoured with a multitude of influences.  The very concept of art and culture, knows no boundaries and has the ability to transcend differences and unite nations and people.  Few entities are as powerful as the universally accepted mechanism of building bridges and fostering understanding through the arts of cultures.  There are few experiences in life that could measure the joy, understanding and acceptance of bearing witness to the glorious spectacles and varied and wonderful displays of Culture.  Cultural Festivals also have the ability to bring together individuals and nations with the mutual interest of exchanging art.  Witnessing and being party to such cultural exchanges is one of the most powerful ways in which to experience culture, inherent traditions, people and their lifestyles and above all, to promote cultural development and Regional corporation.  The Festival will celebrate the diversity of cultural dance across the Region, recognising ethnicities and the artistic talents and unique abilities of the people of the SAARC Region.

The SAARC Cultural Festival on Traditional Dance will be held at the Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 30th November 2017 to 3rd December 2017.  The Festival would commence with an Opening Parade with Dancers from all the participating Member States joining the occasion followed by an Opening Performance by all participating Member States.  There will be similar performances by all participants at different venues in the vicinity so that more people will have an opportunity to witness and experience the rich cultural dance traditions of the Region.  An Interactive Workshop is also organized during this period dedicated to Dance and all things related to Dances.  On 3rd December 2017 there will be a performance by all Dancers of the participating Member States.

Preliminary Meeting
A Preliminary Meeting was held on 28th November 2017 at the Shilapakala Academy chaired by Mr. Liaquat Ali Director General of the Shilpakala Academy with Mr. Wasanthe Kotuwella, Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre and Ms. Kishani Jayasinghe-Wijayasekara, Deputy Director Programmes at the SAARC Cultural Centre at the head table.