Presents
Malpaso Dance Company—One of Cuba’s only independent dance companies—
with live music by Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
May 14-15, 2016 — Citi Shubert Theatre
The four-year-old Malpaso Dance Company is one of the only non-government supported dance ensembles in Cuba
Program features two works choreographed by founder Osnel Delgado
(Boston) Celebrity Series of Boston will present the Cuban dance ensemble Malpaso Dance Company with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble as part of The Dance Series. The performances will take place May 14-15, 2016 at the Citi Shubert Theatre at 270 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. The performances will take place on Saturday, May 14 at 8pm and Sunday, May 15 at 3pm. Following the May 15 performance, there will be a Free Artist Talk with Arturo O’Farrill, choreographer Osnel Delgado, and founder Fernando Saéz Carvajal, moderated by Peter DiMuro.
This performance marks the Boston debut for Malpaso Dance Company. Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble return for this performance after their Celebrity Series debut with Donald Harrison in March 2015.
Based in Havana, Cuba, Malpaso Dance Company is committed to bringing Cuban contemporary dance into the 21st century by collaborating with top international choreographers and nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. As one of the few independent dance companies in Cuba, the company’s core artistic vision is led by resident repertory choreographer and company co-founder Osnel Delgado. Delgado’s work expresses the passion and uncertainties that define Cuban life and are embodied in the country’s rich dance tradition.
The company was founded in 2012 by Delgado, Dailedys Carrazana and Fernando Saéz, and consists of 10 dancers, including former members of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba. Their repertory includes 24 hours and a dog, a work by Delgado, set to music by Grammy Award-winning Cuban-American composer Arturo O’Farrill (who wrote an original overture for the piece, of the same name), Porque Sigues (Why You Follow) by the American choreographer Ronald K. Brown, and other works.
Arturo O’Farrill, pianist, composer, educator, and founder and Artistic Director of the nonprofit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. His debut album with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Una Noche Inolvidable, earned a first GRAMMY Award nomination in 2006. His next album Song for Chico, earned a GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2009. The 2015 release of The Offense of the Drum was yet another Grammy Award winner. Arturo was, in addition, the winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award, and a Cubadisco Award for The Offense of the Drum in 2015. His newest album release (August 21, 2015) is Cuba:The Conversation Continues on the Motéma label. As his professional career expanded, Arturo was the pianist with the Carla Bley Big Band from 1979 through 1983. He then went on to develop as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte.
In 1995 Arturo agreed to direct the band that preserved much of his father’s music, the Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra. In December 2010 Arturo traveled with the original Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra to Cuba, returning his father’s musicians to his homeland for headlining performances at the 26th edition of the Havana International Jazz Festival. Currently, Arturo’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra continues the tradition every Sunday night at Birdland.
Program:
Ocaso
Choreographer: Osnel Delgado
Under Fire
Choreographer: Trey McIntyre
24 hours and a dog*
Choreographer: Osnel Delgado
*performed with live music by Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
Tickets start at $60, and are available online at www.celebrityseries.org, by calling Citi Charge at 866-348-9738, or at the Citi Shubert Theatre Box Office, 270 Tremont Street, Boston. The Dance Series is sponsored by the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, Royal Little Family Foundation, and John S. and Cynthia Reed Foundation. Sponsored by The D.L. Saunders Real Estate Corp.
About Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. The Celebrity Series has been bringing the very best performers–from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more–to Boston’s major concert halls for 77 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives and build better communities. Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience–on stages, in schools, at home– everywhere. For more information on Celebrity Series of Boston, call (617) 482-2595 or visit us online at www.celebrityseries.org.
The Celebrity Series of Boston, Inc. receives generous support from Amy & Joshua Boger, Leslie & Howard Appleby, The Garbis & Arminé Barsoumian Charitable Foundation, the Boston Cultural Council, the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC, the Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Deloitte LLP, Donna & Mike Egan, EMC, Foley & Lardner LLP, Gabor Garai & Susan Pravda, David & Harriet Griesinger, the Charles and Cerise Jacobs Charitable Foundation, Paul L. King, The Royal Little Family Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Joseph McNay, Stewart Myers, the National Endowment for the Arts, Eleanor & Frank Pao, The Peabody Foundation, PTC, The John S. and Cynthia Reed Foundation, The D.L. Saunders Real Estate Corp., the Stifler Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Henri A. Termeer, Tufts Health Plan, Sanjay & Sangeeta Verma, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Nancy Richmond Winsten, Anonymous, and many others.
