Miami, July 18, 2017 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center will once again host the annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival, Aug. 14 – 19, a unique celebration of Afro-Cuban culture through dance and music. In addition to workshops, this year’s festival will feature an academic conference, three-day children’s camp, the premiere of the company’s new performance, and after party featuring dancer and recording artist Osvady Despaigne Gainza, among several Cuban visiting artists from Conjunto Nacional de Cuba and Compañia de Danza Ban Rarra. Events will take place at MDC’s Koubek Center in the heart of Little Havana.
Founded by world-renowned dancer, choreographer and instructor Neri Torres through her non-profit organization, IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company, the festival welcomes dance enthusiasts of all ages and levels to participate in a variety of workshops, including orishas, son, salsa rueda, rumba (guaguanco, columbia & yambu), gaga from the Eastern part of Cuba, reggaeton, and Cuban Modern dance, among other dance styles.
The academic conference, Following the Steps of the Orishas: Afro-Cuban Spirituality in Urban Spaces, will take place on Thursday, August 17, at HistoryMiami, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Keisha Abraham, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Florida Memorial University and Dr. Mercedes Cros Sandoval, MDC professor emeritus, author and expert in Afro-Caribbean culture.
The festival’s new three-day Children’s Dance and Percussion Camp (ages 7 – 11) runs Aug. 14 – 16, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dance workshops will include conga, cubaton and salsa casino. In the percussion workshops, they will learn to play tumbadoras (congas), claves, guiros (shekeres), bells, and bombo (bass drum). The camp will culminate with a children’s performance at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 16, at the Koubek Center. IFE-ILE will give away scholarships to children from low-income families. To apply, e-mail ifeiledancecompany@yahoo.com.
In addition, IFE-ILE will premiere its new performance on Closing Night, choreographed by Torres, Ni de aqui, ni de alla (Not from here, or there) at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 19. After party at Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar in Brickell.
Tickets: Single workshop $20; full day workshop passes start at $100; Children’s Camp $120 (three days); Closing Night performance $20 general admission; $15 for seniors and students.
WHAT: 19th Annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival
WHEN: Monday – Saturday, August 14 – 19
WHERE: MDC’s Koubek Center | 2705 S.W. Third St.
About IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company
IFE-ILE is a two-time Knight Arts Challenge grant winner, awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Established in 1996, IFE-ILE presents Miami’s only annual Afro-Cuban dance festival. As a non-profit organization, it is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and cultivation of Afro-Cuban culture and folklore through the performing arts. Its mission is to develop cross-cultural understanding and educate local communities and visitors through traditional and contemporary dances, live music, festivals, lectures, workshops, and master classes. For more information, visit www.ife-ile.org.
To register, or for more information about the Festival, please call Neri Torres at 786-704-8609, or visit www.ife-ile.org. Follow IFE-ILE: Twitter @IFEILE | Instagram @ifeiledance | www.facebook.com/ifeiledance.