Teaching and Learning Pages

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cuban Dance Review with Ife Ile

In 1996, Jorge Luis Morejon became a temporary member of the Ife Ile Ensemble where he explored Cuban rhythms such as Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba, Mambo, Zapateo, Son and Danzon, performing a Cuban Dance Review at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. No pictures are available of this event in Jorge Luis Morejon's private archive.
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Jorge Luis Morejon's Notes
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Jorge Luis Morejon's first encounter with Afro-Cuban dance was through Juanita Baro, who taught him his first Afro-Cuban dance lessons at Miami Dade College. Then, his participation in Maria Antonia, a Cuban play with a marked Afro-Cuban theme, exposed him to theatricalized rituals and dances of the Yoruban culture. Singer Margarita de la O and dancer Mario Dixon, who shared the stage with Jorge Luis, influenced his appreciation and love for the music and the dances of the Afro-Cuban pantheon. He was briefly exposed to the style of Afro-Cuban Dancer Elena Garcia. Later, at Florida International University, he learned Afro-Cuban dance with Nery Torres. In 2006, in Toronto he was exposed to the Afro-Cuban dance style of Cuban dancer and instructor Sarita Reyes.

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