International Folklore Festival 2018 – Italy

The XVII International Dance and Song Festival “Le Spiagge d’Italia” was held at Riccione, Italy, from 20th Sept – 27th Sept 2018. Fifteen groups from countries like Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, India, Ukraine, Hungary and Russia participated in the week long festival.

33 students (all girls) and 3 teachers of Delhi Public School Sector 45,Gurgaon, represented India in the festival. Udbhav Utsav Sports and Cultural Association, Gwalior, managed our entire tour in association with the organizers in Italy.

The team left for Italy on 20th Oct 2018 from IGI Airport New Delhi and arrived in Milan (Italy) the same night.

On day one of the festival, all the teams from different countries gathered at one common point of the town to begin a 2 km parade leading to the venue. Each student and teacher of our school had the honour of leading the team holding our National flag. The festival commenced with each team performing their opening acts. Our team performed a 10 minute dance medley showcasing three different styles: Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Fusion. It was indeed the highlight of the evening and was appreciated by the audience.

Day two of the festival was the final act by all the dancers. Some teams repeated their day one act while the others performed new compositions. Our students wearing their traditional and contemporary outfits this time, performed a new 10-minute dance composition based on the famous poems of Rabindranath Tagore – Ekla Chalo re and Where the mind is without fear, followed by the traditional Garba of Gujarat.

DPS Sector 45, Gurgaon, was adjudged the Best Performing Dance Group and secured the First position for dance at the festival. Each member of the team will be awarded with the certificate of achievement.

Day three started with our excursions in Italy for the rest of the tour. The team visited four new cities/towns namely Gradara, Venice, San Marino and Milan. Each of these places had their own historical importance, beautiful architecture and famous tourist spots.

Before taking our flight back to India on 27th evening, the team spent one night in Milan on 26th September. All our accommodation, travel and meals were very well organized and students were looked after.

The tour ended with our arrival in India on 28th September 2018 at 8 am at IGI Airport, New Delhi.