Thrilling performances last night at Bailando Por Una Causa on stage at Museo del Barrio. Grateful to have had the opportunity to photograph these incredible dancers for such a great cause!
Artists pictured from left to right: Anaïs Haven and Sydney Grant (Tango) - “La Cumparsita,” Paulina Posadas Dagio & Daniel Enskat of Baila Society - “Pa’ Los Bravos,” the beautiful ladies of Baila Society performing choreography by Ahtoy WonPat Borja of Baila Society.
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
Last Thursday night the Mets donned special “Los Mets” jerseys as they played hosts to “Hispanic Heritage Night” at Citi Field sponsored by Goya. Among many exciting pre-game events (followed by a chance to watch the game from a VIP sky box!) Goya put together a team of All-Star salsa dancers (with the help of SALSEEK!) to perform on the field. Here are a few of my favorite shots of two All-Stars in action - Ron Prokopez and Tina Torres.
And a few more photos on Flickr
“Rumbalsa” a fusion of Rumba and Salsa performed by Yesenia Fernandez Selier and Hunter Houde at Project: Cuba.
8.19.11 PROJECT: Cuba: A multimedia experience including photography, short video documentaries, Cuban style dance performances, and social dancing at Hudson Terrace in New York. All work was an effort to share what we learned during a Marazul dance & music research trip to Havana, Cuba in April, 2011.
More photos on flickr.
A few dancing photos from Friday night. Our Project: Cuba party was a great success!
8.19.11 PROJECT: Cuba: A multimedia experience including photography, short video documentaries, Cuban style dance performances, and social dancing at Hudson Terrace in New York. All work was an effort to share what we learned during a Marazul dance & music research trip to Havana, Cuba in April, 2011.
More photos on flickr.
One night we went to a Rumba house party en La Habana and this is what we saw!
This is Shani Talmor - an Israeli ballerina and jazz dancer who stumbled onto the beach one day in her hometown in Israel with her friends and learned to salsa or, as she puts it, “shake her bootie!” A few years later she was invited to join a prestigious salsa dance team in Spain and traveled all over Europe to perform before settling down in New York to dance four years ago.
These are some of my favorite images from our recent photo shoot together. I wanted these still images to really showcase the movement in her body and also her fabulous performance costume!
I haven’t said this out loud too many times yet, BUT in two weeks I’m going to Cuba! Natalie and I have been invited to join an international group of professional musicians and dancers going to research Afro-Cuban dance and music! For some reason it still hasn’t hit me yet, but I am SO EXCITED. Also, I took my first Afro-Cuban dance class with an incredible Cuban woman named, Yesenia Selier at the Harlem Dance Foundation last Saturday! It definitely gave me a taste of what to expect during my upcoming trip to Cuba (we’ll be dancing for sometimes eight hours a day!!)
And then Natalie and I got backstage passes to meet Juan de Marcos (the man behind the Buena Vista Social Club) and members of his family and new band - the Afro-Cuban All Stars. So, with our huge introduction to Afro-Cuban dance AND music we’re now officially ready to go on this trip!
Check out a few more photos of the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Natalie’s article on Salseek here!
To start off our trip to Cuba, we are exploring more and more about the roots of Salsa dance and music here in New York City. We took our first tambo dance class with Yesenia Salier at the Harlem Dance Foundation and attended the Afro-Cuban All Stars concert. Here’s to our first-hand experience to Cuban culture!
Juan de Marcos & The Afro-Cuban All Stars Electrifies New York City
By Natalie J. Maniscalco & Photos by Chasi Annexy
Cuban maestro Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars left their mark in New York City on Saturday night while performing for a packed theater on the Upper West side during the high tale of their 2011 U.S. national tour. Juan de Marcos, a strong-minded man, quite comfortable in his own skin and donned in a white linen suit and wool beret took the stage to introduce his beloved band and family including his wife and two daughters.
The band started off with smooth Cuban jazz and lead into spectacular solos by each of the musicians. The music took you to another epic while truly mesmerizing the soul. Every beat could be felt from the tips of your toes to the depths of your bones. By the end of the night, there wasn’t one person not dancing and celebrating along with the unique and addictive sounds of this incredible band. Whether you dance Salsa, Rumba, Son, Danzon, Cha-Cha-Cha, Guaguanco, Mambo, or Rueda, the style of music and the movement of your body is at the root of the song.
Click here to read the full article:
http://www.salseek.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=229:juan-de-marcos-the-afro-cuban-all-stars-electrifies-new-york-city
Check out Salseek on ABC’s Tiempo!
I pretty much never let people shoot with my camera, but I love the guys of New Swing Sextet so I’m happy I gave in this time and let Natalie take this shot of me with some of the guys from the band. Plus, now I’m actually in one of the pictures! : )
My girl, Natalie - CEO of Salseek.com dancing the night away at her very own party at Hudson Terrace, 2.18.11.
"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand- and melting like a snowflake." -Francis Bacon Sr.
The inspiration for this blog came from my favorite poem as a little girl, The Butterfly Jar by Jeff Moss:
"We had a jar with a butterfly.
We opened the lid and it flew to the sky.
And there are things inside my head
Waiting to be thought or said;
Dreams and jokes and wonderings are
Locked inside, like a butterfly jar.
But then, when you are here with me,
I can open the lid and set them free."
my website: www.chasiannexyphotography.com
All photos & words are mine unless stated otherwise.
(c) Chasi Annexy Photography, 2010 - 2012.
Mary Pickford
beautiful
love this
cachai que los tiempos son los mismos
