The ISTD on the Road

We report on a successful year of exhibitions around the world

This year has seen the ISTD take part in three major dance exhibitions in London, Florence and Sydney. These exhibitions gave us the opportunity to meet our members as well as provide a shop window to promote the Society. More about each event can be found below.

Above: The ISTD’s stand, before the crowds arrived, at Danza in Fiera in Florence

Danza in Fiera
21st – 24th February 2008, Florence, Italy.

Danza in Fiera is an enormous exhibition, covering pretty much every aspect of dance. It is held within the impressive surroundings of an old Italian fort. Of the three exhibitions that the ISTD has attended this year, this one was the largest and busiest. This was no surprise as Italy is one of the biggest markets for the dance industry outside the UK.

The venue provided attendees with a wealth of opportunities. From visiting the exhibition stands to attending classes and watching performances, including a Ballet class given by Il Balletto on behalf of the ISTD and organised by Heather Fish, Chairman of the Imperial Classical Ballet Faculty.

We also held a reception for our members at the event in addition to having a very busy time dealing with the hordes of people who visited our stand over the four days.

Move It – Dance London
7th – 9th March 2008, London, England

The ISTD’s stand at the Move It Exhibition at Olympia was extremely busy in March with members, non-members, students, parents and children all eager to learn more about the ISTD and its examination portfolio.

With the sounds of the main stage and dance studios in the background, visitors were shown syllabi, given an opportunity to discuss teaching qualifications, informed about the new Diploma being launched by the UK government and told who the ISTD is and what it can offer. Visitors to the stand were also ‘walked through’ the website www.dance-teachers.org as part of its launch at the event, so they could see how to register, find out more about us or find a dance teacher in their area.

All three days were full of activity for those on the stand and the satisfaction of being able to help members face-to-face with any questions, the knowledge of promoting the ISTD to a wider audience and still seeing ISTD Move It canvas bags being used five months after the event, makes up for any sore feet.

Groove Dance Expo
11th – 13th July 2008, Sydney, Australia

In July the ISTD exhibited for the first time at the Groove Dance Expo at Sydney Olympic Park. Visitors to the exhibition had the chance to look around the exhibitors’ stands and watch live dancing on the stage.

Groove Dance Expo provided the ISTD with the perfect opportunity to educate the wider dance community in Australia about the Society and its work, while offering its loyal teachers support and encouragement. A good number of local teachers came to the exhibition and visited the ISTD’s stand.

The exhibition allowed the ISTD to explore ways to develop and build upon the help it offers to its Australian members. The Society is committed to supporting its teachers in Australia and encouraging their development.

Further information
Details of the Move It and Danza in Fiera exhibitions in 2009 can be found on their websites. The web address for Danza in Fiera is www.danzainfiera.it and for Move It the web address is www.dance-london.co.uk. We can confirm that the ISTD will be present at both events and further details will be published in DANCE magazine in due course. The exhibition in Sydney is held every two years so further information will no doubt be published on their website in the near future. The web address for Groove Dance Expo is www.dancexpo.com.au.

Exhibiting at these events, particularly overseas, presents a number of logistical challenges, so the Society would like to thank all those members who took the time to come and visit the stands as well as all of those staff, examiners and committee members who helped ensure the Society was well represented at these events.