Minneapolis, Aug. 31, 2015 – Zenon Dance Company, one of the Twin Cities’ most prevalent modern and jazz dance companies, is heading to Havana, Cuba for a 12-day tour in January 2016. Zenon will expand on the Twin Cities’ cultural relationship with Cuba through performances, workshops, social exchange, and educational visits. Zenon’s tour will deepen its relationship with Cuban choreographer, Osnel Delgado, and his company, Malpaso Dance Company. Friends of Zenon will also be traveling with Zenon who will experience performances by Zenon Dance Company and Malpaso Dance Companyas well as participate in an intense Cuban arts tour.

Following Delgado’s successful residency and creation of Coming Home with the company in August 2014, Zenon received an invitation to deliver three performances in the historic Teatro José Martí, a 19th century theater in downtown Havana. Along with Coming Home, the company plans to performDanny Buraczeski’s Ezekiel’s Wheel and Minnesotan Wynn Fricke’s duet My Very Empty Mouth, as well as teach American modern and jazz dance classes.

Along with Malpaso Dance Company, Zenon will also meet with contemporary dance companies Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Danza Abierta,Compañí Irene Rodriguez, and Balet Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, as well as Camarata Romeu, Latin America’s first all women string orchestra.

As U.S. and Cuban relations thaw after nearly 60 years of political conflict, the opportunity for unprecedented cultural exchange has given rise to artist collaborations— offering glimpses into Cuban arts, social structure, history, and way of life. Through Zenon, planned performances, excursions, workshops, and exchanges will give both the Twin Cities and Cuba a direct link to the other’s cultural identity. As the relationship between the two countries grows, so too does the relationship between the Twin Cities and our vibrant neighbor. As its 2016 tour looms, Zenon continues to foster that relationship as it looks toward a plan to bring Delgado back to the Twin Cities in the near future