Dance takes over Old Havana

Dances seduced by architecture and history, cultural exchange, mixture of artistic experiences and diverse languages, will come together in the Cuban capital from Wednesday, April 9, through Sunday 13, on the occasion of the 19th International Urban Dance Festival “Old Havana: a city in movement”.

The piece that will open the event, “Retornos: Gente y ciudad”, with choreography by Isabel Bustos, will be premiered at 9 o’clock at the Arms Square in Old Havana.

According to Bustos, founder of the company DanzaTeatroRetazos and promoter of the event, the piece is about “going over the essence of things, regaining faith in mankind and the future, given that Cuba is always in the quest for human improvement”.

Companies from more than 12 countries from Latin American and Europe, and the US, will take part in the event and will perform in museums and public spaces.

“This foreign presence, especially from Latin America, reveals the significance the festival has attained and highlights Eusebio Leal’s dream of making culture in the city for its inhabitants”, explained Bustos, who received the 2012 National Dance Award.

The event will also be attended by Cuban artists from 11 provinces, who will join foreigners in the morning conferences and afternoon and night shows to dialogue without a competing character but with the purpose of sharing and develop aesthetics.

With that eagerness for promoting dance, the first hours of the weekend will be dedicated to activities for children, which should not be absent in an event like this one “with a social character and beneficial for everyone”, noted the choreographer.

The exhibit “Transparencia” will be inaugurated during the opening of the event, at 4 p.m., with nine paintings by José Eduardo Martín Llanes and Isabel Bustos as well; “designed harmonically with the same fragrance of feelings and emotion”, pointed out Llanes.

The Festival, reinforced by the production and presence of committed dancers, is organized by the company DanzaTeatroRetazos and the City Historian’s Office, with the support of Havana’s Theater Center.