MALPASO DANCE COMPANY

In the eleventh years 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. This artistic exploration is regularly enhanced by live performances, with musicians such as Arturo O’Farrill, Grammy-winning Cuban-American composer and pianist, and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble. Today, this independent company of 12 dancers is managed by its three founders: Osnel Delgado, resident choreographer and artistic director, Fernando Sáez, executive director, and Daileidys Carrazana, dancer and artistic director.

For its tour of France, Malpaso Dance Company will present Dancing Island by Osnel Delgado, whose “sensual athletic fluidity” as the Miami New Times calls it, explores the genesis and evolution of Cuban social dances, from rumba to salsa. The second part of the program includes Tabula Rasa by the celebrated Ohad Naharin, with music by Arvo Pärt, and Woman with Water by the legendary Mats Ek.

“From its creation, Malpaso Dance Company’s mission has been to use dance to collaborate and connect with artists and audiences far beyond our native island of Havana, Cuba. We believe that by sharing ideas in theaters and rehearsal studios around the world, we can better appreciate our common humanity and unique perspectives. With this mission in mind, we are deeply honored to share the work of Malpaso Dance Company with French audiences.”

Osnel Delgado

ABOUT OSNEL DELGADO

Founder, Artistic Director, Dancer, and Choreographer.

Danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso. He has worked with choreographers Mats Ek, Rafael Bonachela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ja Linkens, Itzik Galili, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz, Isidro Rolando, George Cespedes, Sonya Tayeh, Robyn Mineko, Trey McIntyre, Aszure Barton, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Ron K. Brown, Ephrat Asherie among others. Delgado has created works for DCC, Rakatan, Ebony Dance of Cuba, Zenon Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Smuin Contemporary Ballet. Delgado is a 2003 graduate of the National Dance School of Havana, where he is also a professor of dance studies.

PRESS QUOTES

“As the theatre begins to vibrate with accumulated energy, you get the feeling that they could dance just about any genre with jaw-dropping style. Which makes their unique expression of Cuban culture in all its profound and complex glory all the more special”
Kathleen Smith, NOW Magazine Toronto

“(…) invited as part of Productions Sarfati’s TranscenDanses series, and which shows, through the medium of contemporary dance, simple humans inhabited by a thirst to express themselves through dance, to express emotions other than folkloric ones, to play the card of naked truth. ”
Jacqueline Thuilleux, Concertclassic.com