- Title: CUBA: INTERNATIONAL STREET DANCE FESTIVAL
- Date: 17th April 2003
- Summary: VARIOUS OF "MAZURCA DE BRETONA" ("BRETTON MAZURCA") BY DANCE GROUP AFRO-CUBANCELTIC
- Embargoed: 2nd May 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City:
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Entertainment,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVABZC13W794BSG8JU44W8VWL7DD
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: An international street dance festival in Cuba has brought together performers from fifteen countries.
The Eighth International Dance Festival, an annual street dance celebration showcasing performers from throughout the world convened in Havana this week.
As women looked on from their apartment balconies and crowds gathered in the plazas, performers from Latin America, Europe and the United States danced through the streets of Old Havana at this year's festival called "Ciudades Que Danzan"
("Cities That Dance").
The Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre represented the United States at the festival in their second trip to the Caribbean island. The group has also hosted a Cuban dancer at its North Carolina studios. Choreographer and director Susan Collard said her group has continued the artistic exchanges, despite the political tensions between Cuba and the United States.
"We love the exchanges between all the dancers from the different countries and especially the Cuban dancers," said Collard.
The annual programme brings together performers in a different city each year. Cuban Coordinator Isabel Bastos said she was enthusiastic about bringing the festival to the island, known for a tradition of music and dance.
"It's a party of the body and the spirit," said Bastos.
"It's a way to animate the city and a way to bring culture to the streets."
The international coordinator of the festival, Juan Eduardo Lopez, said the organization did not ignore the political controversy surrounding Cuba, but rather saw the arts as a bridge between cultures.
"One objective is to diffuse culture as an element of peace, as an element of tolerance, as an element of integration," said Lopez.
The dance festival began on Monday (April 14) and runs through Sunday (April 20). Next year's festival is expected to take place in Cataluna, Spain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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