Cuban movements
The Cuban Movements Dance Academy was established in Edmonton in 2013 by Director Leo Gonzalez, a Professional Dancer and Choreographer from Havana, Cuba. At Cuban Movements, we are committed to offering professional-level instruction in a warm, fun and welcoming environment for dancers of all levels and ages. Our team of professional instructors is proud to work alongside our students so they can achieve their potential as dancers in terms of technique, expression and musicality.
Our dance academy is dedicated to preserving, promoting and bringing awareness about the richness of Cuban arts and culture, particularly in regards to their African roots. Maintaining purity and authenticity in the art form is central to our mission, and as such we thrive to incorporate the relevant historical context and technical precision in all our classes, performances, workshops and productions.
We offer instruction in a diverse and extensive dance repertoire including AfroCuban Dance/Rumba, Partner Salsa (Casino), Cuban Contemporary and Rueda de Casino. The academy participates in a variety of festivals that celebrate arts and cultural diversity in Edmonton such as Heritage days, the Edmonton Carnival, the Francofusion Festival, and the Thousand Faces Festival.
In 2019, Cuban Movements collaborated with Harold Ferran Molina, principal dancer of the prestigious Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, to create and lead a dance training trip to Havana for Edmonton students. The “Sabor a Cuba” dance training trip, focused on AfroCuban Dance, Rumba and Cuban Salsa, was intended to provide students with an authentic cultural experience and learn directly from a Master Teacher. It is our intent to continue to offer this trip open to all Edmonton dancers on an annual basis once the current situation in Cuba stabilizes.
In 2020, the Cuban Movements Dance Academy opened the door to its new studio in the Glenora neighborhood. This provided the environment in which to create and produce two dance theatre productions that were showcased at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival: Mi Habana Querida (2021, 2022) and Ay Candela! A Cuban Dance Adaptation of Chicago (2023). Cuban Movements has also be part of Motif Moves, the annual contemporary dance showcase by Orchesis Dance Society (2022, 2023 and 2024). In April 2024, Leo founded the sister organization Cuban Movements Non-profit company with the mission to (1) to preserve, advance and raise awareness of the African roots of Cuban dance, and (2) to promote meaningful connections with other dances from the African diaspora.
The first activity of the non-profit was to present “The Power of the AfroCuban Orichas” at the 2024 Thousand Faces Festival. This was a homage to the power of the sacred dances of the “orichas”, the Yoruban deities that are quintessential to AfroCuban identity and a reflection of their resilience, adaptability, and autonomy in the midst of struggle and uncertainty.
The Cuban Movements Nonprofit has supported cultural exchange by sponsoring Master Brazilian Teachers Rosangela Silvestre and Aninha Malandro to attend the 2025 conference "The Evolving Rhythms: African Diaspora Dance Practices in Canada", hosted by Dr. Eric Awuah (University of Alberta). Eric teaches Foundations of West African Dance at Cuban Movements, with all profits for his class supporting the mission of the NonProfit.
