Cuba’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble is celebrating its 57th birthday with two weekends of shows at Havana’s Grand Theater Alicia Alonso as of Friday.

The programs are set to include the main pieces of their current active repertoire. The first week’s programs include pieces by Cuban choreographers: El Cristal by Julio César Iglesias; Laura Domingo’s Cenit and Matria etnocentra by George Céspedes. The second week the ensemble’s dancers will perform Reversible by Belgian-Colombian choreographer, Annabelle López Ochoa; Tangos cubanos by Billie Cowie; and the much acclaimed Mambo 3XXI by George Céspedes.

With more than 300 premieres throughout its long history, the company, directed by Miguel Iglesias, has been at the avant-garde of the island’s dance scene since its establishment on September 25th, 1962, performing a repertoire of the most varied aesthetic values, styles and tendencies.