On 29th April, 2016, Ghana will join over 200 countries worldwide to celebrate dance as a creative arts discipline. While the world takes on different dance forms as pertaining within their region to celebrate this year’s day, Ghana and Ghanaians all around the world are encouraged to dance Azonto.

World Dance Day, also known as the International Dance Day was initiated by the World Dance Council in 1982. Affiliated to UNESCO and based in Paris, the dance council, referred to as CID, has been promoting dance each year, with specific messages and themes to promote the good values of dance on the said date in various countries.

This year, CAiM (Creative Arts in Motion), organisers of Ghana Dance Festival, leads Ghana to the celebration of the International Dance Day in Ghana (iDDiG) under the campaign, “Give Azonto a Voice.”

According to the CEO of CAiM, Mr Robert Klah, “azonto dance is Ghana’s contribution to the world dance syllabus and as such Ghana needs to flaunt it as its own. Contrary to popular believe, Azonto is not just a dance move; it is the umbrella name for all street dance types we dance to Afrobeats, specifically AfroPop.

"In the past, most people felt comfortable dancing hip-hop dance to hip-hop music, but could not capture the excitement, pauses and expressions of our Afrobeats in their dance. With the advent of Azonto - a derivative of ‘Kpanlogo’, with the infusion of several other dance moves such as ‘Mezop’, ‘Awukye’, ‘Gbee Ohe’ and the like, Afrobeats music has taken on a whole new experience, as Azonto dance gives us the perfect avenue for dance expression. Azonto dance on Afrobeats has produced a visual delight, resulting in international recognition and acceptance. So on this first edition of the grand celebration of International Dance Day in Ghana (iDDiG), we do not only want to give Ghana a reason to dance, we also want to give a resounding voice to our Azonto dance, and also showcase the present Azonto moves,” he added.

To participate, you need to capture a 5 seconds to 1 minute video of yourself dancing azonto, and on Friday 29th April, upload it onto any of the social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – with the following hashtags- #iddig #azontodancefromghana #danceteratv. Alternatively, you can upload dance poses on these social media platforms or send videos and pictures via Whatsapp to the number +233 50 667 9491 for upload.

The World Dance Day will be climaxed with an Azonto Rave and Dance Performances from the finest dancers in Ghana, at Rockstone’s Office- DJANGO Bar (Cantonments), from 8pm. The founder of Hiplife, Reggie Rockstone, will be the host for night. With his rich background in dance and charismatic crowd engagement, one can expect only the best. The program is expected to be graced by the Dep. Minister of Tourism, Culture, Creatives Arts, Hon. Dzifa Abla Gomashie, and representatives from UNESCO office in Ghana.

With that said, the clarion call goes out to all dancers, Ghanaians living in Ghana and abroad, friends of Ghana, and lovers of Azonto dance, to join dance Azonto on World Dance Day by uploading the dance videos and participating in the evening session. Musicians, beat makers, TV personalities, celebrities from all spheres, and all media outlets are requested to lend a helping hand to this campaign.

IDDIG is the first grand celebration of World Dance Day in Ghana. It is an initiative of CAiM, supported by GTV, TV3, Live FM, UNESCO, Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts, and it is powered by Dancetera TV, a dance TV program showing on GhOne TV every Wednesday at 8:30pm, with social media engagements on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube- @DanceteraTV.