ASTANA – Unity Dance Event, an international dance festival, brought together dancers from around the world from April 12 to 14 in Astana. The local dance studio, DomDanceKz, organized the festival with the support of the United States Embassy in Kazakhstan.
Photo credit: The Astana Times
The festival featured dancers from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Russia, China and the United States.
Headliners were street dance culture pioneers, including Mr. Wiggles (Steffan Clemente), a hip hop dance icon from New York, Loose Joint (Jamel Brown), an original freestyle hip hop coach in New York, and Princess Lockerooo (Samara Cohen), a waacking choreographer, producer and director of the Waack Dancers Training Program in the United States.
Photo credit: DomDanceKz
“This is my third visit to Kazakhstan, and I am always amazed by the talent I see here. I will never forget my first visit to Astana in 2013, where I witnessed numerous young dancers performing at an exceptional level,” said Princess Lockerooo.
The festival’s primary goals are to promote a healthy lifestyle, improve the dance level in Kazakhstan, support creative, cultural, and socially significant endeavors, and foster friendly ties among Kazakhstan’s regions and participating countries.
“We aim to contribute to the growth of the dance industry in Kazakhstan and inspire the younger generation to pursue professionalism,” said Zura Sagindikova, head of DomDanceKz studio.
Kazakh dancer Almas Urombayev said the younger generation had the invaluable opportunity to learn from legends of the dance culture firsthand.
“I extend my gratitude to everyone involved in making this event possible, enabling the local community to dance and develop with the masters of the craft,” added Urombayev.
The festival program included training lectures by championship judges, educational workshops, dance battles, and championships covering dance genres such as locking, popping, waacking, hip hop and all styles. Pioneers of the street dance culture from the United States shared industry insights during training lectures.
