Ridwan Dauda Abass, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala East, has called on the Legislature to support the National Theatre of Ghana to be well resourced to promote the various dances in the country.

According to him, the National Theatre, with its national dance company, had uplifted the various danceson the local and international levels. Mr Abass made the call when he presented a statement on the floor of Parliament on the occasion of the International Dance Day.

The International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, which takes place on April 29 of each year. Before, the commencement of the Parliamentary business, members of the Ghana Dance Ensemble were at the foyer of the House to entertain the MPs and the Leadership of Parliament.

The Speaker, Prof Mike Oquaye; First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joseph Osei Owusu and the Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader took some few steps to synchronise with the beats of the drums of the Ghana Dance Ensemble.

Mr Abass, who is also a Board Member of the National Theatre of Ghana, explained that dance as an art, was an important form of communication and critical to the existence of the country, which could also be found within every culture of the world and bonded the people together.

He said dance, when performed, elicited a wide variety of emotions, happiness, excitements, peace and sadness and announced that the National Theatre had targeted to raise GH50 million to support its programmes in communities across the country.

He elaborated that dancing in Ghana as an art form, was under the performing arts, with social, cultural and economic parameters, for which the National Theatre of Ghana took responsibility. “We on the Board have re-oriented the direction of the theatre with a vision: To be the beacon of the performing arts in Ghana”.

Mr Abass also stated that, in the area of dance in particular, the Board was working to bring all that Ghana had to the fore to reap its cultural, tourism, educational, job creation and health benefits. Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader reiterated the call for the National Theatre to be adequately resourced to be able to carry out its mandate.

He said dance and cultural dances were significant for the promotion of the custom and tradition of the people and charged the governing new Patriotic Party to fulfil its campaign manifesto promise to build a theatre in every region of the country.

Mrs Catherine Afeku, former Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture in her contribution stated that dance as cultural tool, was important for the people to understand themselves and appreciate the different cultural elements in Ghana.

She said dance also served as an opportunity to create jobs for the teeming youth in the country in the area of theatre and opera adding that it reduced stress, and brought smiles to the faces of the audience of the performances.

International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO.

The event takes place every year on 29th April, the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810), the creator of modern ballet.

The day strives to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held on the date all over the world. UNESCO formally recognises ITI to be the creators and organisers of the event.