In April of this year I had a great opportunity to go on a dance and music research trip to Havana, Cuba with a group of salsa dancers and musicians from New York, Boston, and the UK. The purpose was to proactively engage in a cultural exchange with dancers and musicians in Cuba and to come home and share our experiences. We met with a variety of dance companies including: Raices Profundas, an Afro-Cuban Folkloric dance company, Danza Chevere, a dance company that teaches and performs mostly Cuban style salsa and Rueda, and Danza Contemporanea, Cuba’s National Contemporary Dance company.
During each experience members of our group taught their styles of dance including New York style salsa and Samba while in exchange we were taught Rueda, Cuban style salsa, Rumba, Reggaeton, and more about the roots of salsa in Afro-Cuban folkloric dance and music; traditions that are still alive and evolving in Cuba today. We also had the opportunity to explore and exchange ideas about how dance and music can be used as therapy for people with mental and physical illnesses and disabilities, which was another very interesting aspect of this trip.
If you’re a professional dancer, musician, or enthusiast - please feel free to contact the American program consultants for more info. www.metamovements.com/cuba
