Let the (dancing) games begin. This Friday, July 29, the Little Haiti Cultural Center presents “The Games We Play,” an evening of multicultural performances by choreographers who blend traditional and contemporary dance styles from West African, Afro-Caribbean, flamenco, tap, contemporary, modern and ballet. The event, which is also free and open to the public, will feature work by South Florida-based choreographers and dancers Sandra L. Portal-Andreu, Asha Darbeau, Anasthasia Grand-Pierre, Ronderrick Mitchell, Afua Hall, Annie Hollingsworth (Mayami Folklorico), Petagay Letren, Ana Miranda, Megan Swick and Natasha Williams.

This weekend I spoke with a choreographer, dancer and “The Games We Play” curator Hall — a “Miami Herald” 20 Under 40 artist — about her upcoming performance this Friday.

Neil de la Flor: During “The Games We Play,” which opens this Friday at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, you will present a work in progress. What can you tell us about this work?

Afua Hall: It is an excerpt of the opening section of “Tough Love,” an extended version, which I began at BAAD! and continued developing while in residence at Miami Dade College Kendall campus. The section I’m showing on Friday looks at relationships between mother and child, performer and audience, performer and performer and performer and self, amongst other things. I’m trying to give the audience another perspective of the “performers” they see on stage. So I’m playing a bit with the artifice of the theater and the realness of the dancers. On another level, each character in the piece represents me at various stages of life, so it is also a reconciliation of the past with the present and the future.

ND: What were your inspirations and goals for the piece?

AH: My first inspiration for the piece was the idea of choice and how sometimes arbitrary one’s position in the hierarchy of life can be. I must admit the music itself is very moving, so a large agent in the piece was just creating movement phrases that myself and the audience in my head can create meaning from as well as be visually interested in. Memories and thoughts of my family in Jamaica came to mind a lot.

ND: How did you get involved with the festival?

AH: I guess I was in the right place at the right time. I’ve always admired the Little Haiti Cultural Center and what it stands for, so last fall when I got the 20 Under 40 nod from the “Herald,” I met with Anita Darbonne, the then dance coordinator and current director, and eventually Marie Vickles, the Visual Arts and Festival founder. I was later invited to teach a class in the Discover Art! Summer Camp, and the opportunity to use the theater as a part of the Discover Art! Family Festival came with it. We’re really excited about the diversity of artists and styles who will be sharing their work. We just added respected Haitian folk dancer and choreographer Weiselande “Yanui” Cezar, as well as Israel-based choreographer Lazaro Godoy, who is doing some interesting work with Afro-Cuban dance and the improvisational system known as Gaga.

ND: What’s next for You?

AH: Que sera, sera. One foot continues in front of the other. Sometimes the left one steps across the right. That’s me being poetic … I’ve been thinking about giving myself the gift of going to grad school for choreography, performance studies or dance education for a while now. I’m not sure. Ultimately, I’ll positively continue to create as well as teach dance.

“The Games We Play” features works by a wide range of choreographers and dancers. The event is scheduled for Friday, July 29, 2011 at 7 p.m. at 212 N.E. 59th Terrace, Miami, Fla. 33137 . Admission is free.