{"id":4434,"date":"2014-08-13T19:29:45","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T19:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.danceanywhere.org\/news\/?p=4434"},"modified":"2014-08-13T19:35:53","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T19:35:53","slug":"soradi_dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danceanywhere.org\/news\/2014\/soradi_dance\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Evening: Soradi Dance in Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gab<\/a>

Gab B Lo<\/p><\/div>\n

The Square of the Republic is a hub of cultural and communal spirit for the city of Tomar, Portugal. Community members chat, children feed the pigeons, and the elderly play chess against a historical backdrop that speaks to the city\u2019s majestic past. A terrace of black and white tiles lead to the golden Palace of Tomar, constructed in the 16th<\/sup> century as a home for Portuguese King Manuel I. The grand building in typical \u201cManuelino\u201d architectural style now houses the city council of Tomar and serves as a monument to what is known as the city\u2019s golden period.<\/p>\n

\"Gab<\/a>

Gab B Lo<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0On March 28th<\/sup>, a warm evening in late March, individuals converged to celebrate dance anywhere\u00ae and animate the square with song and dance. Guided by Shirin Stave-Matias and Fausto Matias of Soradi Dance Company, locals recreated a sense of the golden splendor of King Manuel\u2019s time through, what Shirin described as \u201ca community- based freestyle dance experience\u201d.\u00a0 Community members danced and sang along to traditional Portuguese music while enlivening the square with a wide variety of dance styles from traditional Portuguese dance to hip-hop and contemporary performance. As dancers of all ages moved to the same rhythm in their own dance language, golden lights from the palace glimmered across the space, casting shadows and highlighting dancers at distinct moments.<\/p>\n