Marking International Dance Day on April 29, Bangladesh Nritya Shilpi Sangstha (BNSS), in association with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), organised a week-long dance festival and fair (April 23-29) at BSA in accordance with their long-held tradition. To conclude the festival and commemorate the day, an array of energetic and colourful performances were presented by some of Bangladesh's most prominent dance companies at the National Theatre Hall Auditorium on the eve of International Dance Day.

The President of BNSS, Minu Haque and General Secretary Mahfuzur Rahman inaugurated the finale of the festival along with the chief guest of the evening, Minister for Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor.  Eminent cultural personalities, Nasir Uddin Yousuff , Ramendu Majumdar, Syed Manzoorul Islam, Golam Mostofa Khan and Professor Abdus Selim also attended as special guests. The inauguration was followed by welcome addresses by the celebrated individuals, all of whom unanimously expressed severe concern over the discord threatening our social harmony and encouraged practicing and promoting arts and culture to stand as a strong defense against the spread of terrorism across young minds.

The lifetime achievement award of this year's festival went to Ilias Haider, who has been working in the dance industry for 48 years and has played numerous roles in dance-dramas directed by notable choreographers, and till date has taken and collected photographs of over 25,000 dancers.

The dance programme commenced quite late, at around 9pm and comprised about twenty performances presented by various troupes. Some noteworthy performances included: Pallavi Dance Center's folk piece, directed by Minu Haque; Kathak Nritya Sampraday's classical set choreographed by Saju Ahmed; two performances by Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA), choreographed by Sadia Islam Mou and Benazir Salam respectively; Spandan's lively and energetic folk routine choreographed by Anik Bose; Rewaz Performers' School's folk item choreographed by Munmun Ahmed; Nrittyam's Manipuri set choreographed by Tamanna Rahman; Nataraj's folk piece directed by Laila Hasan; Dibya Sangskritik Sangathan's routine directed by Dipa Khandaker; Angikam's folk dance choreographed by Tabassum Ahmed; Benuka Lalitakala Academy's piece directed by Golam Mostofa Khan; Sukanya's folk item choreographed by Sultana Haider; and Nandan Kalakendra's routine choreographed by MR Wasek.