Cuba's Flagship Contemporary Dance Company Comes to The Marlowe Theatre Next Month

For more than five decades, since the company was founded by Ramiro Guerra in 1959, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba's (DCC) hybrid and hothouse dance blend of African-Caribbean rhythms, jazzy American modernism and influences from classical European ballet has been evoking the sensual heart of the Cuban spirit through vigorous and highly physical contemporary dance.

Now under the directorship of Miguel Iglesias, the company will present three UK premieres during its UK Tour - a mixed bill of recently-created work by three top choreographers: Belgian-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; the UK's Theo Clinkard; and the company's very own Cuban wunderkind George Céspedes. They are brought to the UK by the Dance Consortium organisation, of which The Marlowe Theatre is a member.

Hot Cuban passions, sass and wit all meet in Reversible, by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. It delves deep into the path of gender matters, sudden changes in relationships, the games, rivalry and pleasure of being opponents and dissidents.

To an eclectic soundtrack including music by Jean-Claude Kerinec & Staff Elmeddah, Kroke, Scanner and Eric Vaarzon Morel, Reversible is a captivating comment on gender, spoken in Lopez Ochoa's trademark quirky style, this time with a Cuban accent. Lighting is by Fernando Alonso and costumes by Vladimir Cuenca.

Reversible is performed by 17 company dancers and premiered in Cuba in 2015. The original production was sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy in Cuba.

Lopez Ochoa has created work for more than 40 dance companies across the world, including English National Ballet and New York City Ballet, and is currently one of the female choreographers most in demand on the international scene. In 2012 she created her first full-length ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet. The production received a South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best New Production and a Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography. Last year Lopez Ochoa received further critical acclaim for Broken Wings, a new work for English National Ballet's She Said programme.

The Listening Room, an exuberant and experimental piece by Theo Clinkard, was created for 20 DCC dancers and premiered in Cuba in May 2016. It was originally funded by British Council as part of Islas Creativas (Creative Islands) initiative between British Council and DCC to support the development of new choreography.

Set to Steve Reich's driving score, Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings, The Listening Room is a celebration of expressive and instinctive dancing. As the performers in headphones respond to an alternate soundtrack of wildly diverse music and text, the piece invites the audience to create their own relationships between what they hear and what they see. Lighting is by Fernando Alonso and costumes are made by Vladimir Cuenca.

Following 20 years performing in work by many of the UK's celebrated dance makers, Brighton-based choreographer, performer and stage designer, Clinkard has swiftly built an international reputation for creating compelling and visually arresting dance. Clinkard launched his own company in 2012 to develop work that explores the communicative potential of the body and the empathetic nature of dance in performance. In 2015, he was one of three choreographers selected to create a work for the renowned Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch as part of their very first evening of new work after the passing of its founder, the visionary Pina Bausch.

Matria Etnocentra, by the company's resident choreographer and dancer George Céspedes, sees 23 dancers moving to a drill-like rhythm in this award-winning work: following its world premiere in Havana in 2015, Céspedes was awarded the Critique Villanueva Award 2015 by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba for Best Choreography.

To music by Nacional Electrónica and Hermanos Expósito, including interpretations of the music of Ignacio Villa (Bola de Nieve), costume design by George Céspedes and lighting by Ariel Capote Granado, it is an exciting group work that portrays the tension between the fluidity of music and dance and the regimented nature of daily life in Cuba.

Following DCC's last UK tour, Céspedes' Mambo 3XX1 was nominated for Olivier and TMA awards for Outstanding Contribution to Dance. Born in Holguin in Cuba in 1979 Céspedes studied at National School of Dance in Havana and joined DCC as a dancer in 1998. As a principal dancer he has performed in more than 19 works in DCC's repertoire. He has created works for many companies including DCC, Ballet Nacional de Cuba and National School of Dance.

Miguel Iglesias, Director of Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, said: "With thanks to an ongoing relationship with Dance Consortium and the kind welcome of the UK audiences, we are extremely pleased to return to England, Scotland and Wales with three UK premieres. It is with great pleasure we will present works by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Theo Clinkard who worked in collaboration with the British Council during the Creative Islands project, and our very own George Céspedes whose work Mambo 3XX1 was so greatly received by audiences and critics in 2012. We hope the 2017 tour helps to build on the exciting and ever-growing relationship between Cuba and the UK."

Ros Robins, Dance Consortium's Executive Director, said: "Marking Dance Consortium's 40th tour, we are delighted to welcome Danza Contemporánea de Cuba back to the UK, hot on the heels of the fantastic success of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater tour, which sold out at The Marlowe Theatre.

"Over a seven-week period, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater visited 10 Dance Consortium theatres, with 34 performances to more than 40,000 theatregoers. In addition, 5879 people enjoyed 37 educational sessions led by Ailey dancers and rehearsal director Matthew Rushing inspired 45 of the UK's most talented young dancers in a week-long Intensive in collaboration with DanceEast."

Danza Contemporánea de Cuba are at The Marlowe Theatre at 7.30pm on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 March. Tickets, priced from £13 to £27 (concessions available; booking fee applies), are from the Box Office on 01227 787787, or marlowetheatre.com. There will be a free post-show talk on Friday.