Miami, Jan. 18, 2019 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center turns up the romance in advance of Valentine’s Day with an evening of slow dancing, sharp attire and old school manners set to glorious music. The new season kicks off with a sequel, bringing back the 1940s-style ballroom social dance with Danzon Cubano II! featuring violin legend Federico Britos y su conjunto and the Emmy-award winning Miami Dade College Orchestra on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Koubek Center gardens. This year, they will expand their repertoire to include more Cuban classics and special guest appearances.
Britos and the Miami Dade College Symphony Orchestra reunite to pay homage to the masters of Danzon, the beloved Cuban music genre and corresponding social dance. Slow and elegant, the partner dance demands closeness–the minimal use of floor space often limited to a single floor tile (ladrillo)—and connection, through swaying hips, concise footwork and luscious pauses that allow couples to stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages.
The artists will take the audience on a journey through other classics of the era, and have a few surprises in store as well. Confirmed guests include Havana-born crooner Luis Bofill, known for his velvety and nostalgia-inducing covers of Arsenio Rodriguez among others.The evening offers a complimentary pre-concert dance lesson. Specialty cocktails will be available for purchase. Look no further for the perfect date night.
Other Little Havana Social Club events include a town square-style celebration direct from Peru featuring La Patronal on Friday, Mar. 15; and a Puerto Rican bomba & plena explosion with La Maquina Insular (of Viento de Agua), on Friday, Apr.19.
WHAT: Little Havana Social Club: Danzon Cubano II! with Federico Britos y su conjunto & the Miami Dade College Symphony Orchestra + guests
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m.
WHERE: MDC Koubek Center
2705 Sw 3rd St, Miami 33135
TICKETS: $20 advance / $25 Day-Of | Tickets at koubekcenter.org
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About Federico Britos
Federico Britos is regarded as a titan of the violin, equally adept within the world of jazz as he is in the classical realm. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Britos began playing violin at the tender age five, and by eleven, had one of his musical pieces premiered by the renowned Romanian violinist George Boulanger. His talents grew as such that he came to serve as principal chair, soloist, and ultimately, concertmaster with some of the finest symphony orchestras in Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru, Cuba and South Florida.
Britos has performed with some of Latin America’s greatest musicians— Astor Piazzolla, Bola de Nieve, Cachao, Joao Gilberto, Dorival Caimi, and Vinicio de Moraes, as well as jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Charlie Haden and Charlie Byrd. He’s composed and recorded countless works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, ballet and dance as well as music for films, TV and theater, and has won several Grammy awards for his work with Charlie Haden, Bebo Valdes and Israel “Cachao” Lopez.
The powerhouse violinist has played most major jazz Festivals, including Montreux Jazz Festival; San Francisco Jazz Festival; International Jazz Festival in Espoo, Finland; Bern and Basile Jazz Festival (Switzerland); and Django Reinhardt Festival at Birdland Jazz Club in New York, ans was a special guest in The Grappelli Legacy on December 1998 at Carnegie Hall on the first anniversary of Stephane Grappelli’s disappearance. He’s also performed at the Kennedy Center with Cachao, Nestor Torres, Jose Feliciano, Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Estefan and Paquito D’Rivera, in a program produced by James Edward Olmos called “Americanos.”
About Alberto Bade and the Miami Dade College Symphony
Recognized for his dynamic style, drive and musical passion, Maestro Alberto Bade has established a reputation as an outstanding young conductor. His charismatic stage presence and powerful interpretations of a wide repertoire have garnered him national and international attention and his diverse approach has led him to work with artists from both the classical and jazz world, as Ed Calle, Trio de Negroni and Federico Britos.
Born in West New York, New Jersey, Bade developed his interest in music at a very young age. Although primarily attracted to the orchestral language, he was also influenced by jazz and other genres. He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami and a Master of Music Degree from the same institution before moving to New York to begin graduate studies at the Juilliard School. He’s studied with some of the most acclaimed conducting educators, including Vincent La Selva, Kenneth Keisler and the legendary Jorma Panula.
Bade currently works as Professor and Orchestral Director at Miami Dade College (MDC), where he serves as director of the MDC Symphony Orchestra. A dedicated advocate of music education, he founded the MDC Honors String Festival and is a regular guest clinician and conductor for local youth orchestras. He also frequently serves as a guest conductor in orchestras in Madrid, Berlin, Munich and St. Petersburg, Russia. He’s has won two Emmy Awards for his televised orchestral performances with the Miami Dade College Symphony Orchestra, and has received the Educational Outreach Award and the Miami Dade County Mayor’s Maestro Award for his performances and educational contributions to the city of Miami.
About The Koubek Center
The Koubek Center is an intellectual, cultural, and community hub in the heart of Little Havana. A historic landmark in South Florida, the revitalized mansion remains true to its pioneering heritage—celebrating its multicultural community with workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, concerts and more. In addition to the mansion, the iconic space includes glorious gardens, the Koubek Theater, the ArtSpace gallery, classrooms, and mini performance spaces.
The programs of Koubek Center are made possible with the generous support of: Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissionaires; the State of Florida, Department of State , Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Koubek Center Publicity: Annie Gonzalez, Anniegee Marketing & Communications, 305-213-0291, anniegee06@gmail.com ; Alexa Burneikis, 305-237-7733, aburneik@mdc.edu