Bilbo-Bizkaia. The initiative began at the end of last year thanks to an agreement between the Basque Government’s Directorate for the Basque Community Abroad, and the Aiko Taldea. Through a website especially designed for this purpose, some 200 students are training or perfecting their dance skills with "Dantza Munduan". The classes are taught in Basque, Spanish or English and can be followed live once a week, or via their recorded versions in the section “Dances a la Carte,” where all of the course material is kept.
Argentina and the United States are the countries with the most students. In Argentina, there are youth participating from Buenos Aires, Chascomús, Llavallol, Santa Rosa, Viedma, Chivilcoy, San Nicolás, Cañuelas, Azul, Maipú, Coronel Pringles, Pergamino, Comodoro Rivadavia, Tandil, Olavarria, La Plata, Trenque Lauquen, Bahía Blanca, Paraná, Córdoba, Arrecifes and Necoechea, among others. In the United States, participants are from Rhode Island, Northern Nevada, Gardnerville, Boise, Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Elko, Fresno, Parker, Homedale and Bakersfield.
Dantzaris from Havana, Madrid, London, Sao Paulo, Munich, Montevideo, Pau, Santiago, Chile, Viña del Mar, Bordeaux and Caracas have also joined in.
Evaluation of this first online experience with the Diaspora
Sabin Bikandi, director of the program told EuskalKultura.eus: “Being able to accompany dantzaris in Argentina, Cuba or Brazil in their processes is exciting.” “It is also true that the realities are very different in each city, or each country and area. But we believe that the program is adapted, not only by making material available to the participants to be viewed at any time, but also because it is organized by levels, especially designed for those who are just starting out and for those who seek to improve what they already know,” he emphasized.
The first step of the program is concluding now in June, with the beginning of summer break in the Northern Hemisphere. Although there won’t be new classes for a few weeks, the material uploaded until now will still be available. Bikandi notes that they are ready to resume classes with students in the Diaspora after summer break.
Aiko Dantza Taldea has also announced that with the Basque Country overcoming the worst of the pandemic, they will also resume in person classes in the fall with weekly classes for an hour and a half, beginning in October through June with two levels, beginners and perfecting in various Basque localities with the possibility of attending from their Aikoeskola.eus platform. The Aiko online school has registered some 400 enrollments with half of those corresponding to students at Basque clubs and the Diaspora.
Program information, aikoeskola.eus
Aiko Eskola on social media, AIKO Dantza Eskola
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