“Ara” by artistic director Osnel Delgado places the Malpaso founder in duet with Ballet Nacional de Cuba principal dancer, Grettel Morejón. The piece opens with Morejón, hands to her abdomen, signaling that she’s either pregnant or wants to be. The ensuing duet is both sensual and sharp. The color blocks of the costumes posit a theme of opposition, light contrasting with dark. Alternating piano and violin solos by Aldo López-Gavilán and Ilmar Gavilán echo this. The dancers pass something between them from palm to palm. In a unique lift, Delgado rocks Morejón as if she is a cradle. She hops onto his back from behind and sits on his shoulders. At the end, they revisit the palm to palm passing—perhaps a seed of peace? Once planted, it glows under a slim column of light.
Esteban Aguilar’s “Retrato De Familia (Family Portrait)” is a character study rich with physical antics, waggling fingers, and sharp elbows. Dressed in a complementary suite of street clothes, the six dancers flirt and tussle. Music by Asaf Avidán, performed by Alma String Quartet and López-Gavilán on piano, lends a heavy hand when a character makes a crawling entrance. When the ensemble gathers for a portrait, they look like a bouquet of flowers, all facing forward, their heights varied, the photo spoiled by goofy grins they attempt to cover with their hands.
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