humanitarian drives, dance performances and festivals. Message Authors To help publicise International Dance Day each year the International Theatre Institute selects an outstanding personality from the world of dance to be the Message Author for the event. In the message, it is hoped that the author can underline the relevance and power of dance. Past authors have included Trisha Brown, Alicia Alonso, and Merce Cunningham. As 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of ITI, 5 Message Authors were selected for the 2018 event, one from each of the 5 UNESCO Regions. The 5 authors were; Georgette Gebara (Lebanon, Arab Countries), Salia Sanou (Burkina Faso, Africa), Marianela Boan (Cuba, The Americas), Willy Tsao (China, Asia-Pacific) and Ohad Naharin (Israel, Europe). List of past Message Authors: References External links Dance Day Official Site April observances Dance events Awareness days Dance Day, International