International performers dancing their way into South Jordan
South Jordan International Days is returning for a second year to offer the community a chance to witness and participate in various types of dance, music and culture.
Events will be happening all around the city Tuesday, Aug 10 through Saturday, Aug 14 there will be multiple events featuring dance groups from the Czech Republic and China (Inner Mongolian Province).
Representing the United States will be the dance group Clog America, which was founded by South Jordan resident Shawnda Bishop, who is also the founder and organizer of this event.
In college Bishop was a part of Brigham Young University's International Folk Dancers and was able to attend an international festival with that group. She wanted her own dance students to have that experience so in 1991 she started Clog America, which has now represented the United States in more than 50 international festivals.
Bishop also wanted to be able to bring that experience to her own community. "It has been our goal to provide opportunities for South Jordan residents and children to participate in this cultural event," Bishop said. "That is why we tried very hard to have all of the events totally free of charge and to present a different cultural experience at each event."
Scheduled events are as follows:
Tuesday, Aug 10 at 6 p.m. at Bingham High School, 2160 West 10400 South, there will be a "Clogging Extravaganza" showing championship cloggers from around the valley. A 7 p.m. "Concert of Culture" will feature music and dance from countries around the world.
Thursday, Aug 12 at 7p.m. "Country Spotlights" will take place at the South Jordan Community Center, 10778 South Redwood Road, with dancers from the Czech Republic and the Daybreak Community Center, 4544 Harvest Moon Drive (11750 South), will feature dancers from China.
"Folklore Fun" will take place Friday, Aug 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting at The District at 11400 South Bangerter Highway. Each group will perform in front of the Megaplex Theaters and ensembles will rotate through other performance sites nearby. The audience will be able to participate and learn folk dances.
"Utah Heritage Day" on Saturday, Aug 14 beginning at noon at Heritage Park, 10800 South Redwood Road, will celebrate Utah's Native American and Pioneer history. That evening at the South Jordan Towne Center, 10610 South Redwood Road, there will be a "Flavors of the World" celebration. Ethnic food booths, including crepes and foods from China, will open at 5 p.m. and ethnic crafts will be displayed. There will be a closing ceremony at 7:30 p.m.with swing dancing from 9 p.m. to 11p.m.
The dance groups will also be performing at assemblies throughout the week at local elementary schools. "It is important to give children the opportunity to see the groups, hear the music and interact with them," Bishop said. "It is a way of building bridges and helping people connect."
As part of the experience, Bishop and her group have been asking for volunteers to host visiting families in their homes. She is hoping that the public will be interested in participating so that it will be possible for more groups to visit South Jordan next year.
South Jordan City is helping to sponsor International Days and city officials are happy to welcome this event back to the after the success of last year. "If there were more opportunities to get together like this and view these kinds of performances, there would be greater peace in the world," City Councilmember Brian Butters said. "It is simply an opportunity to view other countries at their best."
Originally a group from Haiti was scheduled to come and she received their information just two hours before the earthquake. One of the dancers was killed. Bishop and her group tried to raise funds so that the dancers could sill attend but they were unsuccessful. As a way to try to help, Bishop has teamed up with a local group called Haitian Heroes and at each of the International Days events they will have a silent auction to raise money to help with the medical situation in Haiti.
Caption: South Jordan International Days will be a week of events, food and prizes. It is free to the public and will bring different cultures together to highlight talent from all over the world.
