Malpaso Educator's Packet

24 Hours and a Dog, performed by Malpaso Dance Company, Osnel Delgado and dancer Dunia Acosta. Photo by Judy Ondrey.

"As the theatre begins to vibrate with accumulated energy, you get the feeling that they could dance just about any genre with jaw-dropping style. Which makes their unique expression of Cuban culture in all its profound and complex glory all the more special."

- Kathleen Smith, NowMagazine Toronto

MALPASO DANCE COMPANY 24 HOURS AND A DOG Educator Packet Digital Student Performance Friday, May 15, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview

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About the Company Malpaso Dance Company About the Leadership

About the Repertoire

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About the Creative Team Choreographer Osnel Delgado Composer Arturo O’Farrill Costume Designer Eric Grass Lighting Designer Al Crawford

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Assessment for Students

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About The Music Center

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Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center Digital Student Performance MALPASO DANCE COMPANY - 24 HOURS AND A DOG The Music Center is thrilled to be able to provide middle and high school students with a digital student performance. We hope that this will be an engaging and inspiring experience for you and your students, and we look forward to when we can safely invite you and your students back to The Music Center!

WHEN Friday, May 15, 2020

SPONSORED BY Center Dance Arts

WHERE

Anita Mann Kohl and Allen D Kohl

www.musiccenter.org/tmc-offstage/digital-student-performance-malpaso/

ABOUT THE COMPANY

MALPASO DANCE COMPANY www.malpasodance.com In less than five short years since its establishment in 2012, Malpaso Dance Company has already become one of the most sought after Cuban dance companies with a growing international profile. Emphasizing a collaborative creative process, Malpaso is committed to working with top international choreographers while also nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. The company tours with 11 dancers and is led by its original three founders; resident choreographer and Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, Executive Director Fernando Sáez, and dancer and cofounder Daileidys Carrazana.

MALPASO Dance Company, Photo by Nir Arieli

An Associate Company of Joyce Theater Productions, Malpaso — together with The Joyce — has commissioned original works from a number of prominent North American choreographers including Ron K. Brown (Why You Follow), Trey McIntyre (Under Fire), and — most recently — acclaimed Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton. Touted as "totally engrossing" (Palm Beach Arts Paper), Barton's work Indomitable Waltz was supported with a production and touring grant from The National Dance Project and made its world premiere in Havana-Cuba in Fall 2016. The company has also recently premiered Dreaming of Lions, a new full-length commission choreographed by Osnel Delgado, featuring an original score composed by Grammy award-winning, Cuban-American composer Arturo O’Farrill, performed by the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble. The work was inspired by the classic Hemingway novella "The Old Man and the Sea" and had its US premiere at Duke Performances in Durham-NC in Feb. 2017 followed by a NYC premiere at The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater. Other active rep includes: 24 Hours and a Dog, also by Delgado and featuring music by O’Farrill, Bad Winter by Trey McIntyre and Face the Torrent, a new creation by Sonya Tayeh, commissioned by and set to premiere at Los Angeles Music Center in Dec. 2017.

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ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP

Photo by Titus T.M. Rives

OSNEL DELGADO

Founder, Artistic Director, Dancer, and Choreographer

Photo by Nir Arieli

FERNANDO SÁEZ

DAILEIDYS CARRAZANA

Founder and Executive Director

Osnel Delgado danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso.

He has worked with choreographers Mats Ek, Rafael Bonachela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ja Linkens, Itzik Galili, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz, Isidro Rolando and George Cespedes, among others. Delgado has created works for DCC, Rakatan and Ebony Dance of Cuba.

Delgado is a 2003 graduate of the National Dance School of Havana, where he is also a professor of dance studies.

ABOUT THE REPERTOIRE

Photo by Daile Carrazana

Fernando Sáez graduated from the School of Performing Arts at the Superior Institute of Arts (ISA) in Havana in 1988. He is also a founder and actor of Estudio Teatral de Santa Clara, was the head of the sociocultural development project in Las Terrazas, Pinar del Rio from 1993 to 1997, and has served on the staff of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba since 1998. He is also a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Founder, Associate Artistic Director and Dancer

Daileidys Carrazana graduated from the National Ballet School in Havana in 2003. She was a member of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso with Osnel Delgado. Daile has worked with choreographers such as Mats Ek, Jan Linkens, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz and Isidro Rolando, among others.

- 24 HOURS AND A DOG

"Inspired by the daily life of dancers in Havana, the work is a non-stop barrage of fluid movement, supported by admirable technique and an easy musicality."

- Kathleen Smith, NowMagazine Toronto CHOREOGRAPHER: Osnel Delgado, in collaboration with dancers MUSIC: Arturo O’Farrill, recorded by the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra COSTUME DESIGN: Eric Grass LIGHTING DESIGN: Al Crawford FULL PIECE: 45 minutes (selections for the digital student performance will be 23 minutes in length).

IMAGE GALLERY: www.malpasodance.com VIDEO CLIPS: www.malpasodance.com/repertoire THE MUSIC CENTER | PERFORMING ARTS CENTER OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

MALPASO Dance Company dancers Maria Karla Araujo & Manuel Durán.

Photo by Nir Arieli.

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ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER OSNEL DELGADO

Founder, Artistic Director, Dancer, and Choreographer “[Osnel] Delgado studied tuition-free at the National School of Dance, as did both his parents and as do most professional modern dancers in Cuba, unless they train at one of the island’s excellent ballet schools. After he graduated, he joined Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, the country’s foremost modern dance troupe, founded by Mr. Guerra in 1959. In 2011, the company made its first United States tour. Mr. Delgado’s performance at the Joyce Theater in New York was a moment of triumph, but at 25 he had already decided to break off on his own as a choreographer.

Everyone told him he was making the wrong move…It’s called Malpaso, which in Spanish means “misstep.” His wrong move came at the right time.”

- Brian Seibert, TheNewYorkTimes "[Mr. Delgado's] finely kneaded movement, which almost makes you want to grab it in fistfuls, buoys into and out of the ground with delectable ease."

- Siobhan Burke, TheNewYorkTimes

Photo by Alex Boerner

ABOUT THE COMPOSER ARTURO O’FARRILL AND THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA The GRAMMY award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO), led by pianist, composer, and director Arturo O’Farrill, brings together the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world’s most accomplished solo musicians. Twelve years of critically acclaimed performances internationally, have firmly established the ALJO as the standard-bearer for creative interpretation of Latin jazz greats such as Tito Puente, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Chico O’Farrill, as well as the Bio and Photo from arturoofarrill.com driving force behind new commissions from Latin music’s most talented composers and arrangers. Presenting programs that range from the very best in dance music sure to bring audiences to their feet, to repertoire that pushes the genre forward, the ALJO commissions and performs innovative compositions and big band arrangements by Vijay Iyer, Miguel Zenón, Dafnis Prieto, Guillermo Klein, Pablo Mayor, Arturo O’Farrill, Michele Rosewoman, Emilio Solla, Papo Vazquez, and many others.

The orchestra’s debut album Una Noche Inolvidable was a 2006 GRAMMY nominee and their second; Song for Chico (ZOHO) won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year in 2008. ALJO’s third album, 40 Acres and a Burro, (ZOHO) was a 2012 Grammy nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. ALJO’s latest release, The Offense of the Drum (Motéma) won the group’s second Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year in 2014. The ALJO has thrilled audiences at Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Boston Symphony Hall, Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Litchfield Jazz Festival (Kent, CT), The Joyce Theater (with Ballet Hispánico), Rialto Center for the Performing Arts (Atlanta, GA), Mahalia Jackson Theater – with Ballet Hispánico (New Orleans) Megaron Concert Hall (Athens, Greece), and the Taichung Jazz Festival (Taiwan), among countless other venues. Their newest release, Cuba: The Conversation Continues, was recorded in December of 2014 during the historic reestablishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba. It was released on August 21st, 2015, on Motéma.

The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra had been formerly an artist-in-residence at the Harlem School of the Arts and is the resident headliner Sunday night at the Birdland Jazz Club.

VIDEO CLIPS: www.youtube.com/user/AfroLatinJazzNY

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COSTUME DESIGN BY ERIC GRASS

Photo by Robert Torres

ABOUT THE LIGHTING

DESIGNER

AL CRAWFORD Al Crawford has been the Lighting Director of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since 1998. Now in his 19th season with the famed dance company, he has produced the lighting for Ailey in virtually every major theater, performing arts center and opera house on the planet having toured to 48 states and over 60 countries. A huge believer in cross genre design, Al founded Arc3design, a lighting design group dedicated to merging his theatrical aesthetic into all areas of art, architecture, dance, live music, theater, television, and live event production. Arc3design employs a team of talented designers and technical artists that support the creation Photo and Bio from uncsa.edu and implementation of new projects worldwide. Arc3design creates the lighting for over 100 projects annually. Recent and current projects include an exterior lighting installation of Madison Square Garden for the NY Rangers, a new ballet for Alvin Ailey by Robert Moses at Lincoln Center, AT&T's Experience at SXSW, multiple State Dinners for The White House, a variety of high end special events for private clients as well as a new permanent concert project in development in Las Vegas.

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ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center Digital Student Performance MALPASO DANCE COMPANY - 24 HOURS AND A DOG Essential Question: How does our culture inform how we dance, tell stories, create art and make meaning in the world around us?

What did you know or learn about Malpaso Dance Company before seeing the performance?

How did you feel while watching the performance?

Was there a story? If so, how did the movement help express that story?

What themes did you see in the piece? How were they expressed?

Select one of the following writing prompts that describe your response to the performance: 1. Most memorable or inspiring:

2. Made me think or ask questions:

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ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: The Music Center Arts (TMC Arts) and The Music Center Operations (TMC Ops). TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on The Music Center Plaza, outside at Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—and in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as K–12 arts education programs. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Grand Park on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil.

MUSIC CENTER EDUCATION The Music Center has long been a champion of arts education with dynamic programs that inspire lifelong learning, take the arts into schools and bring young audiences to The Music Center. These programs in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts engage children from PreK-12, teachers and aspiring young talent throughout Los Angeles County. We believe the arts deepen the lives of all people and are crucial to the development of every child. Currently our programs focus on: Arts integration Partnerships with schools where Music Center teaching artists work in classrooms to empower student creativity and develop their artistic, workforce and life skills. The AIP program deepens learning across the curriculum in collaboration with classroom teachers by combining dance, music, theatre, visual and media arts with content areas including English Language Arts, history, science and social emotional learning for students of all ages and abilities.

Professional Development programs that bring educators together to participate in an experiential and immersive approach to integrating dance, music, theatre, visual and media arts into their classrooms. The focus is on meeting educators where they are and building their capacity over time and in depth — both at school sites and at The Music Center. As but one example, each year The Music Center’s Summer Arts Studio for Educators engages participants in all grade levels, art forms and content areas.

In-school educational performances that invite students into the world of the performing arts and engage young people in dance, music, theatre and storytelling. These high-energy, compelling experiences are committed to excellence, rich educational content and the great diversity of Los Angeles and of the world. Each performance includes customized curriculum that connects to multiple content areas.

The Spotlight Young Artists Program - a nationally acclaimed, free arts training and scholarship program that develops the creative capacity of high school performing artists in Southern California.

Student festivals at The Music Center, including the Very Special Arts Festival that engages students of all abilities as artistic creators and contributors and the Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival, where fifth graders across the county experience live performances and dance together as a community.

Student Matinee performances during each season on Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, where students experience world-class dance performances that celebrate the diversity of L.A. communities.

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Photo by Roberto Leon

“Cuban Culture is the result of intricate dialogues and cultural conversations among individuals from all over the planet.

Dance and music are absolutely relevant.”

- Fernando Sáez Carvajal, Founder/Executive Director of Malpaso Dance Company

THE MUSIC CENTER 135 N. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 972-7211 www.musiccenter.org education@musiccenter.org CONNECT WITH US @musiccenterla

EDUCATION STAFF Keith Wyffels Associate Vice President, Education Susan Cambigue-Tracey Director of Special Projects Patrice Cantarelli Associate Director, School Programs Rada Jovicic Program and Events Manager Ebony Ruffin Manager, Professional Development Juan Sanchez School Programs Coordinator Sandy Seufert Interim, School Programs Manager Monk Turner Manager, Music Center on Tour Belinda Younis School Programs Manager Jacklyn Waight School Programs Coordinator Vincent Lopez School Programs Assistant

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