International Dance Day, celebrated annually on April 29, was created to promote all forms of dance.

This day was founded by the Dance Committee of the International Theater Institute in 1982.

“This day is a celebration day for those who can see the value and importance of the art form ‘dance’, and acts as a wake-up-call for governments, politicians and institutions which have not yet recognized its value to the people and to the individual and have not yet realized its potential for economic growth,” the official website of International Dance Day stated.

The date was chosen as April 29 also marks the birthday of famous French dance artist Jean-Georges Noverre.

Here are some quotes, collected from Planet of Success, to promote the art:

1. “Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.” – Michael Jackson

2. “Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.” – Martha Graham

3. “Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.” – George Bernard Shaw

4. “Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

5. “To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful… This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.” – Agnes De Mille

6. “Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.” – Oprah Winfrey

7. “Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. […] Dance when you’re perfectly free.” – Jalaluddin Rumi

8. "To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it." – Osho

9. "When a body moves, it’s the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I’ll tell you who you are." – Mikhail Baryshnikov

10. "While I dance I can not judge, I can not hate, I can not separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I dance." – Hans Bos

Dancers perform a scene during a rehearsal for Terence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up in My Bones"
Dancers perform a scene during a rehearsal for Terence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
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