100 other youth danced along with Magar, continuously for eight hours in Lainchaur, last Saturday. This wasn’t just a competition for entertainment purposes, but it was also an event to speak up against gender inequality and to support the education of the children of the Chepang community.
This innovative event was organized by YUWA, Restless Development and CWIN. “Initially, there was a lot of chaos. But it was fun to dance amongst a lot of people,” shared Magar. This is the first time that such a ‘Dance Marathon’ has ever been organized in Nepal, the organizers claimed.[break]
The event mandatorily ticketed audience as well as the participants, managing to raise Rs 180,000, said Ursula Singh, a member of YUWA. “The collected amount will be used to support the education of the Chepang children in Dhading,” she informed. The program also incorporated information on gender inequality in between.
Dancers, between the age of 16 and 28, danced away in the marathon to popular English, Hindi and Nepali songs, as long as their feet allowed them to.
Another participant and winner, Puja Thapa shared that although she danced for a long time, she didn’t feel exhausted. “A lot of my friends were there, we watched each other dance and enjoyed the whole time,” she said adding, “I was so determined that I didn’t keep track of how time flew.” Apart from the 18-minute snack break, the dancers were only allowed to take two minutes break.
Choreographers, who were present at the event, taught the participants various dance moves ranging from Salsa to Nepali cultural dance, from time to time.
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