Momentum preview:

A Portrait in Music and Dance: Habaneras, the Music of cuba

This colorful, sweeping portrait, choreographed by contemporary master Frank Chaves, is a vibrant six-part work that celebrates Cuba’s most popular composers, including Ernesto Lecuona, Carlos Puebla, and Silvio Rodríguez. Chaves’s family left Cuba when he was only six months old, but his father kept the island’s musical heritage alive for him through albums of these composers’ music recorded by American orchestra leaders Percy Faith and Morton Gould.

Habaneras means people or things that are of or from Havana; for example, the famously spicy habanero pepper got its name because it was widely traded in Havana markets. Chaves said Havana’s musical style, as expressed by these composers, is both classical and cinematic, reminiscent of the movie musicals of the 1930s and 1940s.

Chaves, artistic director of the renowned contemporary company River North Dance Chicago from 1993 until his retirement in 2015, first staged this work for AMB in 2019. “I dedicate this piece to my father,” he said, “for introducing my sisters and me to the arts and to the many joys and fulfillment that music can bring to the soul.”

Part of our bold menu of brilliant dance…

Habaneras, the Music of Cuba is featured on our Momentum program, a must-see selection of ballets that showcase the versatility of dance as an art form. There will be two performances only, so get your tickets now:

Saturday, October 17, 7:30 pm & Sunday, October 18, 2 pm
Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, 1001 S 6th Street, Council Bluffs