Put on your dancing shoes for the first ever Richmond International Dance Festival

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A brand new festival is dancing to Henrico County and the entire family is invited!

The Richmond International Dance Festival will be held from noon to 6 p.m. at The Steward School, located at 11600 Gayton Road in the Tuckahoe area, on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The free, family-friendly festival, hosted by the non-profit Culture Encounters , will offer vendors, ethnic cuisine and free dance workshops for adults and kids.

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Attendees will be able to learn dance from several dance groups throughout the day, including Nrityageet USA, the Belly Dance School of Richmond, the Tidewater African Cultural Alliance, Panamanian Traditional Dance Group and Sayaw Diversity. No dance experience is needed.

“Dance is a common language,” Amma Gatty, founder and executive director for Culture Encounters, told 8News. “It’s a universal language, everyone speaks dance. So, the idea of bringing us together is to engage with a culture different than your own in a fun, non-intimidating way.”

Gatty told 8News she wanted to start the festival to close the cultural gap in the Richmond area.

“Our nonprofit is dedicated to igniting cultural curiosity, knowledge and appreciation right here in Richmond,” she said. “So, I am an immigrant, originally from Ghana, West Africa, and I believe that in a place like this, immigrants tend to find themselves in silos and not necessarily integrate with a community. So, we are dedicated to bringing people together.”

Attendees are encouraged to register in advance for the dance workshops online .

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