Fri 6/2 & Sat 6/3
Many in Cleveland’s dance audience will remember the Cuban modern dance company Malpaso for their February 2016 performance at the Ohio Theatre. We certainly remember. Vibrant, well-trained dancers made the most of their Cleveland debut with the help of capable U.S. collaborators. When we heard that Malpaso will be back at Playhouse Square heading up DanceCleveland’s 2017/2018 concert series with two free performances, we hastened to speak with DanceCleveland’s executive director Pam Young.
As Young tells it, the story really starts when the Joyce Theater in New York brought Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Cuba’s foremost, government-supported contemporary dance company, on their first trip to the U.S.
Pam Young: What they discovered at the Joyce was in two parts. First of all, dance lives in the hearts and minds of the people of Cuba. They have built an entire theater for Alicia Alonso and her company, Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Alonso is a national treasure and she and BNC tour the world as ambassadors for Cuba. But despite all the government and popular support, there’s a down side to Cuba’s dance scene.
CoolCleveland: How so?
PY: Modern dance in Cuba has been largely derived from the experience of Cubans who danced in the United States with Martha Graham and Jose Limon during the 1950s. They went back to Cuba, founded a modern dance institute, and then the borders closed. So, modern dance in Cuba — which was mostly coming from the United States — has kind of stayed in that 1950s groove.
CC: We’ve understood as much from our reading.
PY: So, searching for a way to help bring more updated contemporary dance to Cuba, the Joyce Theater got a grant and sent the choreographer Ronald K. Brown to Cuba where he met with a number of companies including a little company that had just gotten started — Malpaso. One of their founders, Osnel Delgado, had been with Danza Contemporanea during their U.S. tour, had seen what was happening in modern dance in the U.S., and gone back to Cuba to start his own company (along with co-founders Fernando Saez and Daileidys Carrazana).
PY: As Brown describes it in an interview, he went to meet with Malpaso at their studio, the music started, and they all just started jamming. He felt an immediate kinship and selected them as the company he’d create a new work for. And that was por que sigues (Why you follow), the piece you saw Malpaso perform here.
CC: One of our favorite pieces of all time. So that established the model; an American choreographer — Ronald K. Brown — collaborates with Malpaso and gets them up to date for American audiences. That was last year. What’s new?
PY: The Joyce Theater’s current commission for Malpaso is Aszure Barton, a choreographer we brought here in 2011. When you talk to the company they’re completely blown away by her because her modern dance aesthetic hits on emotional content. The piece, which you’ll see Malpaso perform here, is Indomitable Waltz, co-commissioned by DanceCleveland and the Cleveland Foundation.
CC: Yes, Aszure Barton was another of our favorite concerts, although we gather that she’s gone to a deeper, more emotionally resonant place since 2011. See excerpts of Indomitable Waltz and hear Saez describe what working with Barton has meant to the Malpaso dancers.
PY: The other American choreographer on the program is Trey McIntyre with his first commissioned piece for Malpaso, Under Fire.
CC: We thought very highly of McIntyre’s 2011 DanceCleveland performance but soon afterwards he disbanded his company in order to pursue individual projects. Under Fire is likely to be our only chance to see more of his work. See excerpts of McIntyre’s playful but meditative choreography for Malpaso here and see our enthusiastic review of the 2012 performance here.
Also on Malpaso’s program, Ocaso (Twilight), a duet choreographed by Delgado.
Malpaso performs at PlayhouseSquare’s Ohio Theatre Fri 6/2 & Sat 6/3 @ 7:30pm. Free tickets will be available to the public on Thu 6/ 11 online at or by phone at 216-241-6000 or in person at the PlayhouseSquare ticket office but tickets are likely to go fast so we advise our readers to mark their calendars and obtain their tickets first thing Thursday morning.
Malpaso will also be conducting an educational and creative residency at Cleveland State University’s Department of Dance and Theatre 6/5-9 during the Cleveland State University summer dance workshop. Classes held at CSU Arts Campus’ Middough Bldg. Complete class information is available at csu-summer-dance or 216-687-4883.
In addition, there will be a free public open rehearsal of Malpaso from noon-1pm on Fri 6/9 in the Gund Dance Studio, 1375 Euclid Ave., as part of CSU’s AHA Festival.
There will also be a free community master class for advanced level dancers ages 16 and up on Sat 6/3 from 11am-12:30pm at PlayhouseSquare. Registration is required by emailing Alison@dancecleveland.org. Again, we advise our readers to register promptly; this class is likely to fill quickly.
Malpaso is only the tip of the Cuban iceberg coming to Cleveland. Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion: Cuba Edition is bringing a multidisciplinary cohort of internationally renowned artists showcasing the best in architecture, design, printmaking, photography/mixed media, the written word, ballet and modern dance. Seven local arts organizations are hosting or will host Cuban artists, who will participate in a variety of projects. Learn more here.
[Written by Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas]
Cleveland, OH 44115