Seychelles is hosting the first ever All-African Artistic Dance Championships at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel on Mahe Island where non-elite and masters in artistic dance will clash in a showdown.
The event, which is being organised by the World Artistic Dance Federation (WADF) in collaboration with the Seychelles National Institute of Culture Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA), and the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC), is taking place on September 1 and 2.
Around 200 dancers from across six nations will be participating.
The president of WADF, Nils-Håkan Carlzon, who met with Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan on Friday, told reporters "We are attacking Africa through dance, from the Seychelles."
He said that this is the first competition WADF is running in Africa.
| The president of WADF, Nils-Håkan Carlzon (left), met with Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan on Friday. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY |
WADF is a non-profit worldwide dance-organisation with over 100 years of experience in dance – which also gives non-professional dancers a platform.
"We've been planning it for two years actually, there has been a lot of planning," he revealed.
He added that Seychelles has been chosen to hold the competitions this year as the "organisers have shown a great interest in our association."
On the first day of the competition on Friday, dancers will show off their skills in Afrobeat combats, hip hop, urban and traditional forms of dance from 11 am to 6 pm.
On the second day on, the emphasis will be more on classical, ballroom, and Latin dance.
A welcoming ceremony will be held on Day 2 for all the guests to the All-African Artistic Dance Championships. There are also 13 international personnel who will be among the technical team, including Carlzon.
The championship is classified into different categories namely mini-kids from 4 years and above, juveniles from 9 to 12 years, juniors, youths and adults and masters from 35 years and above.
When asked what spectators may expect from the competition, Carlzon said "a lot of happy dancing, very nice people and good dancing of course. We have representatives coming from Europe and Russia as well; and they are very good dancers, but the big amount of dancers will come from Africa."
"We are very pleased that the dancers and dance schools in Seychelles have such good support with sponsoring as they are able to travel actually," added Carlzon.
He said that there was "a big delegation of Seychelles that had gone to Greece about four weeks."
The winners of the competition will receive their prizes on Saturday night.