The Music Center Brings the Rhythm of Cuba to Angelenos

The Music Center today announced details of its Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now program, a multifaceted exploration of traditional and contemporary Cuban art from November 30 - December 2, 2017. One of only three performing arts organizations selected to take part in the Getty-led Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, The Music Center will present more than 48 world-class Cuban musicians, dancers and visual artists at The Music Center and Grand Park in Los Angeles. With both traditional and contemporary events and performances, The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now will provide Angelenos of all ages access to the art of Cuba and the opportunity to experience the country's dynamic arts scene. Major support for Cuba: Antes, Ahora/Then, Now is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.

The celebration will include performances by Havana-based Malpaso Dance Company; the 10th edition of The Music Center's highly popular Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours, highlighting Cuban themes; free Afro-Cuban dance and percussion workshops and a Rumba Dance Party + Jam Session in Grand Park; and Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now - Artist Conversations, a panel that will explore Cuba's vibrant arts and culture community through intimate and rare discussions and sample performances with Cuban artists and producers. The program will also include an arts education initiative for Los Angeles County high school students.

"Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA creates an ideal platform for The Music Center to share the evolution of Cuba's artistic roots by inviting Southern Californians to explore the rhythm and moves of the island nation during this three-day event," said Rachel Moore, president and chief executive officer of The Music Center. "As one of the select few performing arts organizations involved in this far-reaching program, The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now will provide audiences with an immersion into the artistic conversation alive in Cuba today and help build a bridge for further collaboration with our Cuban counterparts."

The Music Center kicks off the celebration on November 30, 2017 at the Annenberg Space for Photography (Photography Space) with Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now - Artist Conversations, a panel discussion with live demonstrations by artists and musicians whose work is vital and relevant to today's Cuban arts scene. The event will be presented in concert with the Annenberg Space for Photography's exhibition, Cuba Is, and hosted in the Photography Space's main gallery and Skylight Studios. The discussion will be moderated by radio journalist and professor Betto Arcos as the group explores Cuba's dynamic arts and culture community with its classical and contemporary influences. Pancho Amat, master musician of the tres guitar; Yissy Garcia, innovative percussionist in both traditional Cuban rhythms and 21st century jazz styles; and Telmary Diaz, inventive rapper, musician and spoken-word artist; will participate in the dialogue and offer audiences a unique opportunity to learn about their artistic processes. Admission is free with a ticket. Tickets and additional information are available at musiccenter.org/cuba.

Grand Park will set the stage for the community to celebrate Cuba with free Afro-Cuban dance and percussion workshops on Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, 2017 along with a Rumba Dance Party + Jam Session that Saturday as well. Led by master Cuban percussionist Justo Pelladito and his Afro-Cuban ensemble Afroamérica, a collective of Cuban folk musicians and dancers presenting the ancient traditions of Rumba, the park will host free Rumba performances in grand Cuban style on Saturday from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. The Saturday event will also feature Made in Cuba, an L.A.-based Afro-Cuban band comprised of Cuban and Cuban-American musicians, along with renowned artists Pancho Amat, Telmary Diaz and Yissy García. The public is encouraged to join the dance party and try out their own Rumba skills.

In addition, The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now will include a special edition of Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours, which will celebrate artists Amat, Diaz and García, who collectively illustrate and exemplify what is current, exciting and inspiring in Cuban music today. This 10th edition of The Music Center's highly popular Sleepless event will offer a 21st century re?imagining and re?interpretation of what it means to be a contemporary Cuban artist working in a globally-influenced world, all in a late-night experiential environment. The event will transform The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, filling it with the rhythms and sounds of Cuba not heard before in Los Angeles; originally created photographic, sound and light installations; short film screenings, as well as a mercadito and lounge featuring Cuban artwork. Tickets to Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours will be released on November 27, 2017. In a special salute to the event's 10th edition, tickets will be free, with a $6 per ticket handling fee.

On Saturday, December 2, 2017, Malpaso Dance Company (Malpaso) will make its Los Angeles debut when it performs three works at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, Malpaso blends ballet technique with modern dance and movements from the streets of Cuba, often collaborating with top international choreographers and nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography to create pieces that translate Cuba's deep history as a "dancing island" into contemporary dance for the 21st century.

Malpaso's dance engagement will feature two pieces choreographed by established female choreographers, furthering The Music Center's commitment to provide more leadership roles to women in dance. Malpaso will perform the world premiere of Face the Torrent, a new piece commissioned by The Music Center and choreographed by Emmy-nominated "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographer Sonya Tayeh. In Face the Torrent, Tayeh confronts the underlying angst inherent in facing adversity and tragedy and interprets these emotions through a fusion of classic and contemporary dance.

The company will also perform Indomitable Waltz by Los Angeles-based choreographer Aszure Barton and 24 Hours and a Dog choreographed by Malpaso Artistic Director Osnel Delgado. Barton's piece addresses themes similar to that of Tayeh, as she explores the soul when placed under intense emotional circumstances. The Miami Herald described Indomitable Waltz as "performance and craftsmanship seamlessly fused into some very superb dance."

Inspired by the dancers' daily lives in Havana, Delgado's 24 Hours and a Dog will make its Los Angeles premiere during The Music Center's Malpaso engagement. The up-tempo piece is comprised of vignettes that depict a day in the life in Cuba over a 24-hour period. Set to a score by Afro-Cuban jazz composer and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill, 24 Hours and a Dog was characterized by NOW Magazine Toronto as "a nonstop barrage of fluid movement, supported by admirable technique and an easy musicality." The performance will feature live music by O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble. Tickets for Malpaso are on sale now and available at musiccenter.org/cuba.

Finally, high school students will be invited to attend a special morning performance by Malpaso at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday, December 1, 2017, and will participate in the Afro-Cuban drum and percussion workshop in Grand Park. The Music Center will also collaborate with the Photography Space to create opportunities for high school students to participate in an intensive residency involving visual art and dance. Additionally, dance students will have the opportunity to participate in a master class with Malpaso choreographer Sonya Tayeh.

The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now includes:

Artist Conversations

Thursday, November 30, 2017

7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Annenberg Space for Photography

Afro-Cuban Dance and Percussion Workshop

Friday, December 1

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Grand Park

Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours

Friday, December 1, 2017/Saturday, December 2, 2017

11:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.

The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Afro-Cuban Dance and Percussion Workshop, Rumba Dance Party + Jam Session

Saturday, December 2, 2017

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Grand Park

Malpaso Dance Company

Saturday, December 2, 2017

2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

About Pacific Standard Time

The Music Center's Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now is part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles, taking place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

About The Music Center

The Music Center is L.A.'s destination for the world's greatest artistic programs and events. Home to four iconic theatres, an outdoor Plaza and four renowned resident companies - Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil - The Music Center is recognized for its illustrious dance series, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center and its highly popular community programming. With The Music Center On Location, the non-profit performing arts organization brings events and activities to locations outside of its Downtown Los Angeles campus. The Music Center inspires audiences with the very best of live performance, as well as nationally acclaimed arts education initiatives. The Music Center also programs and operates Grand Park with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@MusicCenterLA).