Int’l Youth Dance Festival to kick off with 650 dancers

The biennial International Youth Dance Festival will be held between July 20 and 26, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) announced.

The purpose of the festival is “to provide a platform for young dance lovers from around the world to cultivate friendship, exchange cultures and display diverse dances, and to provide an opportunity for local residents and tourists in Macau to appreciate and experience the art and culture of different countries and regions from a different perspective.”

This edition will feature a total of 27 teams hailing from Europe, Africa, North America, Oceania and Asia.

Among the participants, 17 teams are non-local teams from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Canada, Slovenia, Finland, Israel, Latvia, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Turkey, Sichuan Province of China, Yunnan Province of China, and Hong Kong.

The 10 local teams include dance groups from Choi Nong Chi Tai School Dance Team, Macao Youth Dance Association, Macau Youth Street Dance Association and Macao Pop Dance Association, among other middle schools and dance associations.

The 2018 International Youth Dance Festival also includes parades, an outdoor carnival and exhibitions. Furthermore, street artists will interact with audiences.

In total, 650 dancers will perform in this edition of the festival.

In addition to dancers, 200 volunteers will help with the running of the festival.

Chan Iok Wai, chief of DSEJ’s Training and Support Division for Youth Association, disclosed the budget for this edition’s festival, having explained that an extra MOP2 million have been allocated to 2018’s edition compared to previous editions. According to Chan, the budget for this year’s festival is estimated at MOP17 million.

“The actual expenditure is temporarily unknown,” said Chan, adding that the increase of MOP2 million is related to “the adjustment of the transportation costs of non-local teams. Compared to the previous edition, two more teams are coming from North America, and one more team is coming from Africa. The number of teams from Europe also increased from five to eight. There has also been an increase in publicity on newspapers, and live broadcasts.”

On July 25 and 26, two indoor performances will be available for public view at the Macau Forum. Residents can register for the two performances from June 20 on the DSEJ website.