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Martin Ihns
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Martin Ihns is a teacher and choreographer of Albanian and Macedonian dances in the Netherlands. He organizes workshops and seminars in Macedonia and is a member of the artistic team of the Doe Dans Festival. He started folk dancing in 1953.
As an amateur he also performed in the show group of Zajednica, the Yugoslavian dance theater 'Oro' by Ciga & Ivon Despotovic and at the dance ensemble 'Praznik'. His professional dance career began in 1971, when he was accepted as a dancer in the International Folklorist Danstheater (Nu ID). As an artistic director and choreographer, he led the theater group 'La Popoldancetoj' and the two successful dance projects: 'Od Korne Kornese' and 'CS.'
He also served as head of the National Framework Program for People's Dancers and of the education program initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture for dance leaders of immigrant folk dance groups.
Over the years, Martin became more and more a specialist in Macedonian and Albanian dance and organized various dance trips to his beloved Macedonia. Due to his many contacts, Martin, as in the Netherlands, is also a registered name in Macedonia. Partly as a result, he is able to get regularly renowned teachers and musicians to come to the Netherlands, and now also to the Doe Dance Festival.
In 2006, Martin stopped his active dance career. Now he wants to dedicate his knowledge, experience, and ideas to the development and design of a renewed Do Dance Festival. In addition, attention is paid to youth, the internationalization of the festival, and the widening of the target groups to which the Doe Dance Festival focuses.