In many ways, dance is the art of flight and finding a way to lift our bodies against the pull of gravity may be the closest we’ll ever get to freedom — at least that’s how I feel. Elska Zeidel at Inkub8, September 2012. If you want to learn how to fly and free yourself […]
Article · August 31, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
Tropical Storm Issac, with its medium rains and so-so winds, nevertheless ruined my plans to see “El juego de Electra/Electra’s Play,” which is part of FUNDarte’s fabulously fun and must-see Absurd Celebration: The First International Festival of Virgilio Piñera’s Theatre. The festival, which opened August 17th, features four extraordinarily intelligent and deliciously absurd plays that will […]
Article · August 27, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
It’s right there, he said. O, I said. Cinema? It’s easy to get lost in the jungle of Miami’s booming and ever-expanding performing arts scene. It’s a kaleidoscope of color, sound, movement and magic with so many spokes — performances staged here, there and everywhere — that it creates a problem: where next? “Pieces” a film […]
Article · August 23, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
Last week we told you about “Soulé,” a one-night performance that extended traditional flamenco into a contemporary dance context. The presentation, which took place Friday, didn’t necessarily persuade everyone in attendance. But what “Soulé” lacked in energy and connection with the audience, the dancers made up for in grace and beauty as they illuminated the […]
Article · August 20, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
Carlota Pradera doesn’t want to touch you. She wants to dance and move in her magic pants in open spaces, jam-packed parking lots and highrise office buildings. She wants to plot our concrete landscape with her footprints and presence. She wants to dance in Publix and CVS, Morningside Park and 7-11 and engage (not enrage) […]
Article · August 16, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
The city is big and our schedules are tight, but there are two extraordinary must-see events opening this weekend: “Soulé” and “Aire Frío”/“Cold Air.” “Soulé” is a contemporary flamenco rhythm and blues fusion that runs for one night only, Friday, August 17th at 8 p.m. at On.Stage Black.Box Theater at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. The performance extends […]
Article · August 13, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
I spent last weekend at the Little Haiti Cultural Center (LHCC) for the 3rd annual Africa Diaspora Dance & Drum Festival of Florida presented by Delou Africa. The weekend, which featured drum, dance and singing workshops for children and adults, culminated in a heart-thumping, raucous fire-in-the-soul-lifting performance by the Delou Africa Dance Ensemble. Delou Africa. […]
Article · August 9, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
Last Thursday night PAX (Performing Arts Exchange) hosted Velvet Glove, an underground circus held above ground because if you dig too deep in Little Havana, you hit limestone and then saltwater. The night featured local musicians, rappers, break dancers, spoken word artists and other creative creatures who defied clear genre classification. And all of this […]
Article · August 6, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
For me there is stillness in movement and in movement there is stillness. When my body is still and I inhale all of the oxygen my lungs can handle, my mind zooms far from rest and jumps from one thought to the next like a rabid couch potato surfs the web from one hyperlink to […]
Article · August 2, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
When I entered the Little Haiti Cultural Center (LHCC) for Same Stage, a night of multicultural dance organized by Afua Hall during the Discover Art! Family Festival, I felt numb and listless, blue and exhausted from the real and imagined burdens of life. The little green boogeymen in our heads sometimes trick us into resisting so […]
Article · July 30, 2012 by Neil de la Flor
Life is absurd. It’s a divine comedy that makes absolute sense and non-sense at the same time. That’s what makes life fun and fundamentally unstable and challenging. In honor of this psychotic tumbleweed of an existence, FUNDarte, the University of Miami Ring Theatre, and the Department of Modern Languages and Literature present the First International […]
Article · July 26, 2012 by Neil de la Flor