International Dance Council Venice Section - CID

06/10/2026

Costume heritage is also dance heritage.

The book 40 Greek Costumes from the Dora Stratou Theatre Collection, edited by Alkis Raftis, presents traditional Greek costumes through full-page photographs and detailed descriptions by Christos Broufas.

Publications of this kind are important because they help preserve not only garments, but the wider cultural world surrounding dance: craftsmanship, local identity, performance practice and historical memory.

Published in English and Greek.
94 pages, A4 size

Available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=alkis+raftis&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&crid=15WUL2W2QSNRS&sprefix=alkis+raftis%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C490&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

03/10/2026

At September’s Karamoja Cultural Event in Moroto, Uganda, communities from across the Ateker region gathered for performances and dialogue. An account by the International Livestock Research Institute describes traditional dance alongside conversations involving women, young people, elders and cross-border representatives on pastoral mobility, land governance and shared resources.

We see a careful cultural-diplomacy lesson in that combination. Performance can help create a setting for contact and the sharing of heritage. Decisions about land, safety and livelihoods require sustained dialogue, community participation and institutional action. The event shows these activities taking place together; the challenge for the underlying disputes to be resolved is ongoing.

ILRI account: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/culture-meets-peace-and-development-karamoja

CGIAR is the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network. We provide evidence to policy makers, innovation to partners, and new tools to harness the economic, environmental and nutritional power of agriculture.

01/10/2026

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Ministry for Culture and Heritage has announced support for international cultural projects that include two New Zealand Dance Company works.

The cultural-diplomacy question lies in the relationships built through this work. Joint creation, appropriate credit and opportunities for continued exchange can give an international presentation a life beyond its tour. The ministry’s announcement provides a framework for that possibility.

Programme details: https://www.mch.govt.nz/our-work/arts-sector/cultural-diplomacy-international-programme

About the programmeThe Cultural Diplomacy International Programme (CDIP) was set up in 2004 to take a whole-of-government approach to cultural diplomacy. The funding aims to support cultural activities that will contribute to New Zealand’s economic, trade, tourism and diplomatic interests by showc...

28/09/2026

Uruguay and Angola have signed a 2026–2029 cultural cooperation plan that includes performing arts and archives among its areas of work.

For the Venice Section, the important next step is a practical one: the plan shall prove it will enable artists and cultural organisations on both sides to shape projects, exchange knowledge and document what they create. In fact, while the plan establishes a framework, those projects remain to be developed.

https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-educacion-cultura/comunicacion/noticias/uruguay-angola-firmaron-plan-cooperacion-cultural-2026-2029

El ministro de Educación y Cultura, José Carlos Mahía, recibió a su par de Cultura de la República de Angola, Filipe Silvino de Pina Zau, con el

28/09/2026

27/09/2026

14/08/2026

Different contexts. Common aspirations.

This was the theme of International Youth Day 2026. The United Nations highlighted the importance of giving young people not only opportunities, but also a meaningful role in decisions affecting their future.

For the Venice Section of the International Dance Council CID, the message has particular significance for dance.

Young dancers, choreographers, teachers and researchers from different countries may work within very different traditions and circumstances, yet many share the desire to learn, create, collaborate and participate internationally.

Cultural diplomacy should therefore involve young artists not simply as performers, but as partners in cultural exchange.

Dance can create a space where different histories and artistic languages meet while remaining distinct—and where a new generation builds professional relationships across borders.

Link:

This year’s theme – “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations” – reflects a simple truth: that despite their many differences, young people across the globe share similar hopes for dignity, participation and opportunity.

10/08/2026

Cultural diplomacy is often understood as presenting a country’s culture abroad. But what happens when cultural memory returns home?

The exhibition “Returning to Panama“ brings together artworks from the OAS Art Museum of the Americas and collections in Panama. Works that represented the country internationally can now be reconsidered within their original historical and cultural context.

For dance, similar questions apply to recordings, archives, costumes and repertoires that circulate across borders.

International exchange is strongest when it expands access while preserving meaningful connections between cultural expressions and the communities whose histories they carry.

07/08/2026

How do we preserve the history of dance?

One important answer is through images.

Ballet’s Golden Age 1840–1940 presents 530 historical prints from the
Alkis Raftis Collection, documenting a century of ballet through performances, rehearsals, portraits, backstage scenes and artistic illustrations.

Collections help preserve cultural memory and make dance history more accessible to researchers, educators and artists around the world.

Dance heritage is thus not only performed, but also documented, studied and shared across generations.

“Ballet’s Golden Age 1840-1940” is available at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H8932HFX/

Ballet lovers, historians, and art collectors alike will treasure this profusion of masterpieces, brought to light for the first time. Legendary ballerinas are immortalized here through the eyes of their contemporary illustrators—including Léon Bakst, Georges Barbier, Pierre Carrier-Belleuse, ...

05/08/2026

The Emmeleia World Festival 2026 will take place in Athens, Greece, from 21–23 September, bringing together dancers and choreographers from many countries at the Dora Stratou Dance Theatre.

Festivals such as Emmeleia show how dance can foster dialogue across cultures. Every performance becomes an opportunity to exchange ideas, traditions and artistic practices while building lasting international relationships.

International cultural cooperation grows not only through institutions, but also through the encounters that take place between artists.

More information:
https://events.cid-world.org/emmeleia-world-festival-2026/

2nd World Festival of Indian Dance Athens, Greece, 15-17 July 2024