Dance With People: A Choreographer's Creation

People participate in dance. Artists dance with people. Dance turn people's domain, their way of expression. It is neither the partnered steps of Jive nor the “triple step” movement of Cha Cha. It is Allegory of a Puzzle , a ballet. Cuba , the country having roots of the dances Tango, Conga and Habanera, has created the artist, who is taking dance among people. He is Narciso.

Narciso Medina, internationally renowned Cuban choreographer, principal dancer, considers dancing not as a performance, but as a space of coexistence. Alegoría de un rompecabezas , Allegory of a Puzzle , a new ballet, has brought Narciso to headlines again. Granma International 's Mireya Castañeda talked to him. Granma International carried the interview on July 21, 2011 .

Narciso's professional choreographer life began in 1986 with the classic Metamorfosis , his most outstanding work. Movements, manner, style, language, themes of his creations turned distinct. His dance workshops are part of the community.

In Alegoría de un rompecabez he puts dancers “on the stage dancing, acting, declaiming, interacting with the public”. He says: It is not a performance; although there is dancing, a lot of energy, it as a space of coexistence. He tries to bring the public and dancers very close, have them interact, not seek distance. As time passes, dancers and audience share together the process of creation. As proposed by the public a lot of staging and improvisation are created.

He is now “more uninhibited, more natural, in terms of the performance, not doing anything technical, elitist, which could make the public feel that distancing, but to bring them closer to the dancers.” For that reason he changes according to the theme, according to the passion he has to create.

What's dancing for him? “For me”, Narciso says, “it is 24 hours of the day. In dance and in the choreographies I express all my sentiments. Physically, it makes me feel very good, I disconnect from my problems and enter into a world which I create while I am dancing, teaching. Dance entered into me and I entered into dance. We have gone about creating a good couple. Dancing is to feel alive. Dancing is an irresistible fever.”

Narciso also creates short stories and poems, but dance ensnares him. He has the novel Ojo de la vida and essays including “ El suspendido vuelo del ángel creador ”, “The suspended flight of a creative angel”, on dance, the world of art in a general sense, and a book for teaching, Danza creative , which has been translated into Japanese. It is going to be published for secondary schools where creative dance is going to be an obligatory subject, and one of the teaching materials will be its text. The first part is Educación sico-corporal para la danza , Psycho-physical education for dance.

Narciso says: Literature and dance are two different languages, but they come together, because one has to work on dramaturgy, history, themes, levels of surprise, characters, different languages, movement. “The written word satisfies me at the end of the day, but I have had more of a field in dance.”

Narciso (Guantánamo, 1961) graduated from the National School of Art (ENA) in 1981, the year he joined what is now the Danza Contemporánea de Cuba company. He stayed there for more than 10 years as solo dancer and principal choreographer. With his company founded in 1993 “he has achieved his own language, mixing with ease diverse styles and trends.” This brought famous international prizes and distinctions including a Special Mention at the International Choreography Competition in Lausanne and First Prize in the 9th Creative Dance Competition, Saitama , Japan . Cuba has decorated him with the National Choreography Prize for Metamorfosis in 1986; the National Juvenile Choreography Prize for Caverna Mágica in 1987; the National Choreography Prize for Un Grano de Oro in 1994; and a prize for Ligero de Equipaje at the 2nd International Choreography and Interpretation Competition. Framed within a distinct style, Metamorfosis is laden with international prizes including one from Maurice Bejart, a celebrity in world choreography for its presentation in Switzerland .

[ This short piece is entirely based on the interview. ]