By Honorary Reporter Ayushi Kharayat from India

The Cheonan World Dance Festival on Sept. 29 ended its 20th edition after five days in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do Province. 

This year's event, the largest in its history, drew 880,000 visitors and featured 4,000 performers from 54 countries, transforming Cheonan Stadium and vicinity into a vibrant dance hub. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has deemed the festival one of the country's 25 best provincial festivals for six consecutive years.

The highlight was the World Dance Contest, whose 30 teams from 29 countries showed a mix of traditional dances, costumes and music. 

The following are the impressions of international teams from nine countries that took part in the event from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 expressed through social media and email.

Sofia 6 from Bulgaria

Bulgaria received an incredibly warm reception from Koreans. Cheonan residents eagerly looked forward to our performances and filled us with positive energy. 

Our faces fully expressed our emotions, which we conveyed to the audience while showing the beauty of Bulgarian folklore on Korean soil. What made it even more thrilling was that 14 years ago, Sofia 6 took to the world stage in Cheonan and captured the hearts of residents, the jury and participants of the festival, and we relived these emotions here.

Zemplin (folk dance) from Slovakia
I think nobody expected us to win the silver prize, and that's why we're so glad that we never gave up. We never imagined to be this young and dancing in Korea in front of so many people. We loved every second of being on stage with other participants as one big family. 

Ballet Folclorico Costa Araucania from Chile

The main stage was the largest in our 25-year history, and the audience's enthusiastic response to each performance was remarkable. Every dancer and musician experienced incredible energy on stage and felt the unwavering support of Cheonan residents.

We secured third place for Chile at this festival, something that will serve as lasting motivation for future generations of ballet.

The Chilean ambassador to Korea accompanied us to the festival's inauguration. Sharing the stage with great and talented groups from all over the world was a unique experience.

Ballet de Savoie from France
Performing at the Cheonan World Dance Festival was a nerve-wracking yet unforgettable experience. In France, traditional dance groups rarely compete, so this was a new challenge for us, especially with many troupes experienced in competitions. Receiving recognition filled us with immense pride. 

The special mention we received underscored our transformation of folklore into a living and dynamic art form, and we hope it inspires other troupes to preserve their folklore.  

Ollin Yoliztli Mexican Folk Dance Company from Mexico
We had mixed feelings and were incredibly happy to be on stage representing our country, but also felt nervous about competing against the best in the world. In the end, we enjoyed every performance to the fullest. We vividly remember the first show when we even shed tears of joy in bringing our traditions to the stage.

We felt happy and satisfied because our stage work was recognized with a special prize, and hearing our country mentioned among the best was wonderful. 

Teatri Metropol from Albania
Although the journey for us was quite long, we were excited to participate in the festival and filled with curiosity to learn more about Korea. It didn't take long to realize that the festival was a significant event not only for Cheonan, but also for the participating countries. The hospitality, organization and positive approach of such a large event were noticeable. 

Seni Budaya Khatulistiwa from Indonesia
The opportunity to participate in this festival was a source of pride. Indonesia has a rich and unique culture whose strengths we wanted to share. We believe that cultural events like this should continue to grow and not bring others down, but instead stimulate appreciation of each other and world peace. 

Pachamama Danza from Colombia

Waving the Colombian flag and wearing traditional attire filled us with pride and excitement. The exceptional production heightened the moment, and sharing Pachamama's years of creative work was truly rewarding. Our performances were a genuine reflection of our hard work and strengthened Pachamama's artistic journey. It was an opportunity to showcase our work and Colombian folklore to the world. 

Zespol Regionalny Mystkowianie from Poland
Our feelings during the festival were extremely positive and even exciting. Participating in such a large international festival was not only a tremendous honor but also an opportunity to promote our culture to the world. Performing with teams from around the world showed us how universal the language of dance is and how much can be conveyed without words. We returned home full of inspiration and new ideas for the future.

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*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.