Contemporary Cuban Dance:
A World Heritage

Among the many, not always justified, attributes that Cubans represent to the world, perhaps the most prevalent are: we are good musicians, we have an enviable sense of humor and, of course, we know dance.

While this is true as a general rule for almost all inhabitants of the archipelago, it is also true that these "labels" can be more narrowly confined to the most popular manifestations of our culture. It is obvious that Cuba is obviously deeper, more grounded in reflection, in developed language, in metaphor, and even in virtuosity.

To talk about dance, we have several companies with notable results and diverse artistic concerns ranging from classical ballet to the purely traditional. In this scenario, one especially stands out, not only because of its solid work sustained over several decades, but because they constitute a sort of vanguard vested with the most current dance codes. I refer to the Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba, a group focused on artistic creation as something renovating, multiple and humane.

Miguel Iglesias, its general director for the past 23 years, has been internationally endorsed through the staging of works hailed as milestones of national dance. A modest man, talkative, serious about undertaking projects, Iglesias agreed to share with CUBAPLUS a piece of his personal history at the helm of this company.

How did Miguel Iglesias arrive at Contemporary Dance of Cuba? I arrived almost involuntarily. In the 80s I was a young artist who wanted to give my all to the stage; I was not at all interested in directing. One fine day the then Deputy Minister of Culture Leyseca Marcia proposed that I direct the company, then named National Dance of Cuba...