Dragon dance will open the Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival
A dragon dance performance by Sen Gao Martial Arts Academy kicks off Columbus Zoo’s Lantern Festival during a preview event before the attraction opened.
- Some of the dance styles featured in the festival include Indian dance and Spanish flamenco.
- The festival will feature over 150 professional dancers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
North Jersey admirers of dance can check out performers, styles and cultures from around the world at an upcoming festival.
The 2nd New Jersey USA CID World Dance Festival will be held Saturday, March 29, at Secaucus High School’s Arthur F. Couch Performing Arts Center, 11 Millridge Road, from 4 to 8 p.m.
The festival will feature over 150 professional dancers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S. performing folk, classical, cultural and contemporary dances. Some of the dance styles include Indian dance and Spanish flamenco.
Performers will include local talent from Kulture Kool, the South Asian cultural and performing arts center based in Rutherford; the Lyndhurst-based CMG Dance Project doing flamenco; and dancers from the Secaucus Middle School. Puerta de Oro de Colombia, a folk dance group from Miami, and Compagnie De Danse Bakalama from Senegal will also toe the stage.
Archana Athalye, founder and director of Kulture Kool, is also the president of the Rutherford section of the International Dance Council, the organization’s only U.S. branch. Athalye said 13 dance companies and eight solo dancers will be participating in the festival with the solo dancers allotted eight minutes to perform and the companies given a 15-minute performance.
“The purpose of the festival is to promote diversity, the various dance forms. Like dance can just exist in so many different ways in terms of folk dance, classical dance, contemporary dance,” Athalye said. “Also, to expose the audience to all of these beautiful dance forms and cultures that are represented in our communities.”
The event is presented by the International Dance Council in collaboration with the town of Secaucus. Based in Paris, the council is a non-governmental umbrella organization “for all forms of dance in the world,” according to its website. The festival is made possible through the support of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Admission is free for Secaucus residents and members of the International Dance Council (with valid ID) and $5 for non-residents. Tickets are available at form.jotform.com/250583647594166. For more information, contact [email protected] or (203) 558-7868.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @ricardokaul
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