Cuban Movements Dance School

Leonardo Gonzalez was always in love with dancing, even as a boy. Friends and family could see it as they watched him fuse moves from dances like the mambo and cha-cha-cha at neighbourhood parties. He even jokes that this passion was evident from his early days in the crib. “My mom always would say that even in the crib, I was always moving and shaking my hands and dancing," he says.

As he grew older, Leonardo became captivated by traditional, folkloric dances, like the Yemayá, whose moves recall a dark history of trans-Atlantic passage, from West Africa to the “new world.” But, they also speak to the strength of individual spirit and will-power, witnessed through each spin and gripping bow and resolute body isolation. Inspired by dances like these, Leonardo decided to find an Afro-Cuban dance company to join. But to join a professional crew, he needed professional training.

It was then that Leonardo decided to audition for a place at Cuba’s National College of Art and Music. “[It's] the only dance school in Cuba. Around [2,000] to 3,000 people go there to audition,” he says. “They only let in about 50 students for the first year. And, I actually got in!”