It’s not an everyday experience where you meet dancers and artistes from seven different
countries and learn their dances to the tee. But Ivanna Gomes from Loutolim had
the opportunity to dance her heart out and learn some great techniques as part
of the Brouhaha, The International Spirit of Community and Carnival in
partnership with Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, from April 25 to July 18,
2019.
The journey from Goa to Scotland was not that simple. The team
of Goa DanceSport Association comprising Dr Martin D’Costa from Vasco and
Ivanna Gomes had to go through six months of paper work to get their visas and
approvals. “As Goa DanceSport Association is affiliated to the European
Commission, which sponsored this festival, we could participate in this festival,
which was the first time an Indian team participated. Two artistes were
selected including National winner of the Latin Dances in 2017, Ivanna. She is
a very versatile dancer and her dance repertoire ranges from Bollywood to
ballroom,” says Dr Martin, Vice President of Goa DanceSport Association.
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A choreographer and dancer, Ivanna has specialised in Bollywood,
Latin, hip-hop, Salsa, Belly dance and free style. A second year student of
Arts at Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Margao, Ivanna worked
on group choreography with children and youngsters in schools, youth centres
and established dance groups. “It was a great experience. I am glad that my
college permitted me to take a long break and be part of this festival, which
culminated into the Edinburgh Carnival Festival. I taught Indian and Latin
dances at the festival and for the Carnival, I performed Lyrical Hip-hop on a
special stage with a dancer from South Africa. To conclude, we had a
collaborative dance with 13 participants from 7 countries,” says Ivanna.
The eight participating countries were Brazil, South Africa,
Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Zambia, Jamaica, USA and India; ours was the
eight edition of the Edinburgh Festival Carnival. “There were different dance
workshops being held simultaneously and we had to inform which workshop we
would be attending. I had to present a workshop on Bachata and a presentation
on the topic, ‘How dance helps children develop in India’. Ivanna had already
been there for three months and I attended only the Festival workshops and the
Carnival, which was over four days. It was a great cultural experience as I
also got to learn different variations of dance styles like Hip-Hop, Locking,
drumming and fold dances from Italy,” adds Dr Martin.
The
festival had over 250 artistes and dancers, while there were over 800 carnival
performers from across the globe. “I was given a costume that was called the
Chicken costume. There were different stages set up on the route of the
carnival and performers were dancing to the crowds. Ivanna was collaborating
with a South African dancer on one of these stages, which is great way to
showcase different dance styles. It was a culturally enriching experience,”
concludes Dr Martin.
