When Kuchipudi dance couple Devi and Girish stepped onto the stage at the Festival of India event held at Mandalay in Myanmar, they were happy to see the huge turnout for their show. This was the first time, after many years, the Myanmar government was opening the doors of its capital to host the event organized by the Ministry of Culture in India.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the International Festival have both had record breaking box offices in their 70th anniversary year. [...] Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "This has been a very special year for the Fringe as we celebrated 70 years of defying the norm, 70 years of the greatest melting pot of arts and culture anywhere on the planet, and 70 years of Edinburgh as an internationally renowned festival city.

A troupe of 56 Thai khon performers will stage the Ramayana at the Sydney Opera House in Australia for the first time, next Monday night. The khon – a dance drama by performers in masks – was part of the cultural trip organized by the Culture, Foreign, and Tourism and Sports ministries to celebrate the 7th circle birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and 65 years of relations between Thailand and Australia.

With a view to strengthen cultural relations and to showcase diverse Indian culture to Brazilian people, the union ministry of culture is organizing a festival of India in three cities of Brazil. [...] Three cities including Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have been selected for the events.

At a time when Europe appears ever more self-absorbed and the U.S. questions many of the foundations of post-war prosperity which it created, China appears ever more self-assured in offering an alternative narrative. [...] Despite this massive investment, China’s soft power still languishes far behind that of its Western rivals in most comparative studies: 28th out of 30 in Portland’s 2016 report on soft power or 20th out of 25 according to Monocle.

Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who drew global attention in 2015 by bringing Slovenian avant-garde band Laibach to perform in Pyongyang, will hold the first-ever art symposium in North Korea, Aug. 26 to Sept. 4. His latest initiative named "DMZ Academy" seeks collaborative works between artists from North Korea's state-run institutions and those from the outside world, amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Department of Students Welfare University of Jammu is going to organize first ever Mime Festival and Workshop in Jammu.