The name is simple, Cuba Vibra, the ultimate show, music, dance and joy, in one of the most emblematic areas of Madrid, Gran Vía.
Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba (LADC), in the continuation of a successful season in Spain, where the Teatro EDP Gran Vía, a former cinema from 1944, is transformed with the presentation of the company, as an added value to the boom of international tourism in the Iberian country.
After almost two hours of mambo, chachachá, son, bolero, rumba, conga, latin jazz, flamenco, swing or rock and roll, between the intensity of the dancers, the colourful choreography and the music, the audience thanks with enthusiastic ovations.
The impressions are stimulating for the company, as the award-winning Cuban director, choreographer and pedagogue, Litz Alfonso, told Prensa Latina in an exclusive interview.
«In general, both in Barcelona and Madrid, the tour has been very beautiful, very emotional, because the show connects with the spectators. When it ends, you can feel the emotion of the people and this pleases the whole cast,» she commented.
We continue on to Teulada (Valencia), Zamora and Palencia (both in Castilla y León), and we finish in Zaragoza (Aragón), which is where we end the tour on 7 July, said Alfonso.
Afterwards, we will go to Havana to do our summer course and prepare for some performances in Martinique, and other presentations such as Los Angeles (USA), among others, and with different repertoires.
As the founder and current head of LADC, she received the International Spotlight Award at the White House in 2016 from the hands of the First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama; she was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (2011).
Her honours also include the Canadian Performing Arts Dora Award for Best Choreography Vida, as well as the highest award for Choreography from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba for Sinceramente FGL, dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Federico García Lorca (1998); Alas (2006) and Vida (2009). Asked by Prensa Latina about the variety of the company’s repertoire, Litz Alfonso pondered that in the near future, along with Cuba Vibra, there will be Habana Fénix, another Cuba Vibra with more Spanish influence.
«Our thematic line has been maintained, we began as a company of Spanish rhythms in 1991 but immediately in 1993 we changed, declaring dance and fusion music as our seal of identity to this day,» she explained.
«That’s why we connect with audiences all over the world, who feel identified with what they are seeing on stage, that mixture that goes from classical ballet, contemporary or modern dance; Cuban popular dances that are so rich; Afro-Cuban dances,» he added.
Passionate about her profession, she stressed that she draws on all kinds of musical and dance influences, «that we have had from abroad, such as jazz, blues, swing, rock and roll; and Cuban music and dance, which are so strong, that is to say that mixture that is an explosion of richness throughout history».
