Amidst religious extremism and security threats, where cultural practices have little chance to thrive, a dance troupe of 16 young girls from Lahore Grammar School (LGS) braved representing Pakistan at the 8th International Lake Festival in Turkey. Adnan Jahangir, a renowned Kathak dancer and Madiha Gul of the Lahore-based production house Mishermayal, led the troupe. Her group Mishermayal, named after a musical note connoting the ‘coming together’, was invited to participate in the festival last year.Each year, the festival selects 11 countries to promote their language of music and dance and is hosted at the Kucukcekmece Lake Amphitheatre in Istanbul. Gul asserts that the festival was a great opportunity for the local talent to represent its country and culture positively. “It was a very prestigious experience since we were representing Pakistan. You can tell this is what’s missing here — there is little space for personal growth and people are not enjoying that. It shows how much should be done to promote culture,” says Gul.
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