Compañía de danza Malpaso

Havana, April 6 (RHC)-- Cuba's Malpaso Dance Company, directed by Osnel Delgado, represents the country at the 18th edition of the Belgrade Dance Festival in Serbia.

The international event brings together ensembles from around the world, despite the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The show performed by the Cuban ensemble consists of three pieces: Indomitable Waltz, 24 Hours and a Dog and Tabula Rasa.

Since its establishment in 2012, Malpaso Dance Company has become one of the most sought after Cuban dance companies with a growing international profile.

Emphasizing a collaborative creative process, Malpaso is committed to working with top international choreographers while also nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. The company tours with 11 dancers and is led by its three original founders: Osnel Delgado, Fernando Sáez and Daileidys Carrazana.

An Associate Company of Joyce Theater Productions, Malpaso — together with The Joyce— has commissioned original works from a number of prominent North American choreographers, including Ronald K. Brown, Trey McIntyre, Aszure Barton, Emmy-award winning Sonya Tayeh, and most recently, Robin Mineko Williams.

As part of its commitment to Cuban choreographers, Malpaso has also premiered works by company members Beatriz Garcia and Abel Rojo, who was nominated for a prestigious Benois de la Danse award.

The company also continues to tour works by Artistic Director Delgado, which are often accompanied by Grammy award-winning, Cuban-American composer/pianist Arturo O’Farrill and Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble.

The company recently added works by the legendary Merce Cunningham, famous Swedish choreographer Mats Ek and the world renowned Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin to their repertory. Naharin traveled to Cuba in 2018 to work one on one with Malpaso dancers to re-stage his seldom performed, 30-year-old masterwork, “Tabula Rasa”.

...a pinch-me moment, one of those times when you catch an artistic dawning… Malpaso’s dancers are exceptional.

© LA Times

“Tabula Rasa” seems tailor-made for the men and women of Malpaso.

© New York Times

As part of the current tour of Serbia, the Cuban dance troupe will also travel to Novi Sad, capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, 95 kilometers northwest of Belgrade, to perform at the Serbian National Theater, and on April 7th, they will perform at the Cultural Center of the city of Gornji Milanovac, 120 kilometers south of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.