Cubania – say it with the accent on the “i” and you’re halfway there – is the word Cubans use to describe their particular sunny-island outlook, their Cuban-ness.
More than a hybrid of Spanish and African, Cubania bespeaks a certain spontaneity, energy, and cheerful stoicism. So you expect some of that to inform the work of Cuba’s flagship contemporary dance company, which dates its existence from the very year of Castro’s revolution.
With such a rich stew of indigenous dance cultures to draw on, why look elsewhere for ideas? I admit to a small pang of disappointment on seeing that, of the four pieces the company is offering in various combinations on its first ever UK tour, three are commissions from European choreographers, one of whom is humourless, tin-eared flavour-of-the-moment Rafael Bonachela. While Bonachela’s name may be suitably Hispanic and his current trading value high, his credo has always seemed to me the opposite of energy and fun, his dances wilfully obscure, determinedly sour.
