Leo Gonzalez
I was born and raised in Havana and took my first steps into the world of dance at age eight with a Cuban group that was part of the iconic “Casa de la Cultura” in Havana called “Dew Drops.” At a very young age, I had an intense passion for dance and participated as a principal dancer in multiple choreographies. At 13 years of age, I was accepted as a student by two prestigious Cuban dance companies – Banra-rra and Narciso Medina. In 2003, I was selected to be one of the students at the prestigious National College of Art and Music Shows (ENAEM) in Havana, after passing a rigorous examination of both attitude and aptitude. During my tenure with ENAEM, I was featured in events on a national level such as “Danzandos” and was the recipient of the award for best choreography. My professional training as a full-time university student at the ENAEM allowed me to become a professional dancer and choreographer with extensive knowledge of traditional Cuban and international dances, including Afro-Cuban, Afro-Haitian, ballet and contemporary dance such as Mambo, Cha Cha Cha, Pilon, Mozambique, Rumba, Salsa, Son, Guaguanco, Columbia, Yambú, Spanish dance, and Tango.
Due to my dedication and the quality of my work at ENAEM I was personally selected by one of the most prestigious dance and musical companies of Cuba: “Santiago Alfonso”, whose principal was the director of the world-renowned Tropicana Dance and Music Show in Havana. During my three-year tenure with Santiago Alfonso I earned the opportunity to perform roles as a soloist and in group ballets at various national performances. Before moving to Canada in 2011, I worked and performed as a professional dancer with DanzaCUBA where I was able to grow even further as a soloist and develop my skills as choreographer and teacher. In 2013, now calling Edmonton my home, I started Cuban Movements Dance School to share my passion and love for Cuban dance with the Edmonton community. Since then I have traveled across Canada and internationally to participate in Expo Latino, Salsa Congress Saskatoon, Salsa Congress Calgary, Winnipeg International Salsa Festival and Salsa Congress Vancouve,. I am very active in the Latin dance community in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, training dancers and choreographing for 9x World Salsa Champion Mario Acosta-Cevallos and five-time World Bachata Cabaret champions Harold Rancano and Regan Hirose.
With my dance academy Cuban Movements I support a variety of festivals that celebrate arts and cultural diversity in Edmonton such as Heritage days, the Edmonton Carnival, the Francofusion Festival, as well as Expo Latino in Calgary and the Calgary Salsa Congress. In 2019 I collaborated with Harold Ferran, 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 and Cuban salsa to learn from Harold, and it also provide an authentic cultural experience. It is my intention to continue to offer this trip open to all Edmonton dancers on an annual basis.
In 2020, I opened my own studio for the Cuban Movements Dance Academy in the Glenora neighborhood. I was also awarded the Mowat Diversity Award by the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival for my original dance musical production called “Mi Habana Querida”, featuring 7 dancers, 12 choreographies, a love story, political commentary and mixed media. This dance musical was a 1-hour immersion in the rich cultural heritage of Cuba through a dance journey from traditional AfroCuban to the modern styles of today. At the heart of the story are Cubano Pablo and American Tiffany, who fight for their love against the backdrop of the Cuban revolution. It debuted at the 2021 Edmonton Fringe Festival, selling out 6 out of the 7 scheduled shows to critical acclaim from well-established Fringe reviewers.
In 2021 I was selected by the Good Women Collective to be part of their curated for Expanse 2021, a dance and movement festival part of the Chinook Series in Edmonton. As part of this opportunity I was able to showcase the first iteration of the Power of the Drum, a 15-min original piece combining a fusion of AfroCuban and contemporary dance, drumming and narrative. This piece was intended as a homage to the power of the drum as a reflection of the resilience, adaptability, creativity, and autonomy of the Cuban Diaspora in the midst of struggle, crisis, and uncertainty. The Power of the Drum was selected to become a full production by the Common Grounds Arts Society as one of 4 productions selected for the inaugural cohort of RISER Edmonton. The Power of the Drum had its world debut in April 2022 at the Westbury Theatre in the Financial Arts Barns, with a successful run of eight shows. In 2023, together with Cuban Movements, I presented a new dance theatre production at the Edmonton Fringe Festival called Ay Candela!, a Cuban Dance adaptation of the original Chicago play. It had a successful run of 6 shows and received financial support from both the Edmonton Arts Council and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
In 2024 I launched the Cuban Movements Non-Profit Organization, which was incorporated in Alberta in May 2024, with the following mission: (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 Cuban Movements Non-Profit has already participated in several festivals, including the Thousand Faces Festival (2024, 2025, 2026) and The Evolving Rhythms: African Diaspora Dance Practices in Canada Conference (2025), hosted in Edmonton by the University of Alberta Department of Anthropology.
