Karachi Dance Festival opens up the dance floor today

150 performers from all provinces of Pakistan to take part in two-day event

KARACHI: The first-of-its-kind Karachi Dance Festival is set to begin today (Friday) at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi. About 150 performers from across Pakistan will take part in the two-day festival, which will also include workshops and panel discussions.

"There used to be over 25 dance schools [in Karachi] in the 1950s. This city was very liberal and everything was peaceful. There was a peaceful coexistence among everybody and we wanted to continue that smaller liberal phase that's left now. It's also a resistance to other factors," Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, President Muhammad Ahmed Shah told The Express Tribune. He added that other than an act of defiance through art, the festival will also serve to entertain people.

Apart from the annual theatre festivals, youth festival and international Urdu conference, Shah is planning to add two new activities from this year onward: the Karachi Dance Festival and International Culture Summit.



"Culture has bigger horizons and we can tackle and talk about many things from language and literature to dance and theatre," said Shah.

He also spoke about the contributions made by all of Pakistan's provinces to the festival. "Talent from all corners of the country will be part of the festival. We have dancers from as far as Gilgit-Baltistan and even Balochistan," explained the Arts Council president. "The festival is titled the Karachi Dance Festival but it's a national festival. Karachi is a city that is home to everyone and embraces diversity."

Shah shared that while the festival will give preference to showcasing regional dance genres, there is also room for contemporary dance performances including hip hop and salsa.

It is interesting to note that while the public loves to watch dance numbers in films and there is even a popular mujra performance culture, they frown upon dance and consider it 'vulgar' when local performers do it. "It goes way too far. Someone in the Sindh Assembly said a while ago that dancing should be banned [in schools]. This festival is a resistance to that mind-set. Dance, singing and art is our way of defiance," he said.



Shah said they are planning to convert the dance festival into an international one from next year. "We will make it bigger and better from next year onward. It will be an international dance festival with performers from many countries such as Brazil and Lebanon." He emphasised the importance of such activities and festivals.

"It's global connectivity through culture. People are being divided through war and projection and exchange of culture is the remedy, which brings people back together. Culture is the way for us to show the world that we are peaceful people and we have art, language and literature."

Activist and dancer Sheema Kermani and Nighat Choudhary will also be part of the festival. Several dance genres including, but not restricted to, kathak, bharatnatyam, sufi, ballet, Rajasthani folk and even hip hop will be performed at the festival.