La tecnica cubana

Cuban contemporary dancers in Havana in January 2014.

La técnica cubana, often abbreviated as técnica, is a form of Cuban contemporary dance that was founded by Ramiro Guerra Suarez in Cuba in 1959.[1] Unlike other forms of traditional Cuban dance, técnica fuses many different dance forms together, such as those from Africa, Europe, and North America. It is a highly expressive and robust dance form, incorporating many quick jumps and undulating movements of the torso and pelvis. Técnica blends a high amount of movement and expression with a degree of synchronization, producing an athletic, theatrical dance form.[1]

Técnica was founded directly following the 1959 Cuban Revolution. The Revolution was driven by ideas of socialism and a lack of Cuban nationalism, which brought about major change to the political, economical, and social realms of Cuba.[2] The new Castro regime provided funding and government support to expand the arts, and thus técnica, a new revolutionary Cuban dance form was established.[3] The similar timing of técnica’s birth allowed the dance form to incorporate many revolutionary ideas—boosting Cuban nationalism and providing a sense of national and personal identity for Cubans. Técnica incorporated this nationalist vision into its dance technique and created a sense of cubanidad, or “Cuban-ness.”

  1. ^ a b John, Suki (2012). Contemporary Dance in Cuba: Tecnica Cubana as Revolutionary Movement. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786449019.
  2. ^ Fernandes, Sujatha (2006). Cuba Represent!: Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0822338918.
  3. ^ Moore, Robin (2006). Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520247116.