New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS): The four-day Ocean Dance Festival 2019 in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar, with the theme of 'Bridging the Gap', ended on Monday. Inaugurated by State Minister of Cultural Affairs, K.M. Khalid, the festival witnessed participation by more than 200 dancers, choreographers and scholars from 15 countries. This dance extravaganza was organised by 'Nrityajog', the Bangladesh wing of World Dance Alliance (WDA) that aims to expand cultural tourism in the country.

American dance artist of Indian origin Ananya Chatterje commenced the festival, presenting a dance recital followed by performances by Taiwanese dancer Huang yu Ting, Sadhona Cultural Centre (Dhaka), Kalpataru and others. Artistes from Lithuania, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, China, Germany and Bangladesh participated in the festival.

The opening evening saw a presentation of "Chaand.." choreographed by Canadian artist, Sashar Zarif, an outcome of a 15-day multi-nation residency programme organised and facilitated by Nrityajog and WDA Asia Pacific for 20 young dancers who were mentored by Zarif. It was an aesthetic coming together of synergies from across the world through a multicultural exchange programme.

The festival ended with Sristhi Cultura Center's much acclaimed dance drama production, "Badi-Bandar Rupkatha", based on story of "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves" from "The Arabian Nights".

WDA's Asia Pacific President, Urmimala Sarkar Munsi, said that the festival aimed to create awareness of cultural practices, and also send across the universal message of peace and friendship.

"Our aim is to showcase an array of performances by talented Bangladeshi dancers who truly deserve an opportunity to present their work on such a prestigious global platform," said Lubna Marium, the Vice President of the South Asian chapter of WDA.