‘Phenomenal musicians working in concert with extraordinary dance artists’
See Malpaso Dance Company with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra on March 7 at Arts Commons
On March 7, Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company will bring the rhythms of the “dancing island” to the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons for an exclusive Canadian engagement. Accompanied live by the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, led by multi-Grammy Award-winning composer Arturo O’Farrill, audiences can expect a night of sizzling energy.
Established in 2012, the Malpaso Dance Company works with both top international choreographers as well as new voices in Cuban dance. Malpaso draws honed dancers from every region of Cuba, each with rigorous schooling from Havana’s prestigious Cuban National Ballet School or its National School of Modern Dance.
“They have very sophisticated training in their bodies, but those human beings are also informed by the fragments of Cuban culture that they come from,” says artistic director and co-founder, Fernando Sáez, from the company’s headquarters in Havana’s atmospheric Vedado neighbourhood. “There is not just one Cuban culture.”
One part of the program will see the company dance to O’Farrill’s composition 24 Hours and a Dog, while he joins on the piano.
“It’s a celebration of a day in the life of dancers of the company in this city (Havana), going through this urban landscape,” says Sáez. Watch for moments like walking the dog and strolling Havana’s beautiful G Street.
Brought to Calgary by Arts Commons Presents, the programming arm of Arts Commons, in partnership with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, the program opens with a solo choreographed by Malpaso co-founder and associate artistic director Daile Carrazana for dancer and co-founder Osnel Delgado. Called Lullaby for Insomnia, it’s inspired by both the music of Spanish composer Jordi Sabatés and that of Cuban singer-pianist-songwriter Bola de Nieve.
Malpaso’s third piece on the program is Stillness in Bloom, choreographed by Edmonton-born contemporary dance icon Aszure Barton.
“That was the first piece that she created after the pandemic and the first collaboration we had after the pandemic,” says Sáez. “It’s a complex combination of joy and suffering.”
New York City-based jazz master O’Farrill says something remarkable happens when he plays live with Malpaso. “It seems to be just instrument and body, like one continuous arc that has no boundaries,” he explains. “I’ve worked with choreographers before, but for some reason this is an extraordinarily special experience — especially because of the love and dedication that these artists bring to their craft in Cuba.”
Malpaso’s mix of rich life experience, intricate choreography and live music should make for an unforgettable adrenaline rush at this latest show in the BD&P World Stage Series.
“As a newcomer to Calgary, I have become fascinated by the powerful connection that Decidedly Jazz Danceworks has with its audience,” says Arts Commons vice-president of programming, Sarah Garton Stanley. “Malpaso offers an exciting contribution to this kind of experience: phenomenal musicians working in concert with extraordinary dance artists to transport us to another place.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, starting at $39, visit artscommons.ca/malpaso.
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Arts Commons Presents.