World of dance showcased in Cambridge

(NECN: Josh Brogadir, Cambridge, Mass.) - More than 35 dance groups from around New England descended on Cambridge, for a day and night of dance. From the tradition of square dancing to the grace of contemporary ballet to the rhythms of Mali, in West Africa - dance in its many forms drew a crowd to Cambridge Saturday afternoon.

The first 'Dance for World Community' festival filled a closed-off section of Harvard Street - its purpose - to show a world of dance with a social message. We bring together not only the dance community, but people from social service, social advocacy agencies, advocates for various causes that are important not just to dancers, but to all of us, said Jose Mateo, festival organizer. Participation - was observation for some - and performance for others, like Genevieve Hyacinthe, of the West African drumming and dance group Benkadi. So many Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville people are out. They want to see dances from different regions and we're just really happy to be able to put the beautiful dance of West Africa in the spotlight, Hyacinthe said.

The festival was not just about performance by the experts - these people walked in to the studio for free classes - learning Waltz, foxtrot, tango, salsa, merengue, said Arielle Lurie, of Sharon. I've done swing dancing for awhile but I hadn't done merengue before, so it was nice, nice to try, said her dance partner Neil Dantam, who is spending the summer in Boston. As the tents and stages come down - they're making room for a block party - with dancing in the streets. Though it's a world dance festival, most all of these groups are local. Jose Mateo, the organizer, is hoping the festival will be a model for other dance festivals throughout the country.