The Arts in Cuban Culture

City in Motion Festival 2018

Judy Levine teaches the “Insider View of the Arts of Sarasota” course, leading fieldtrips to the cultural sites of the area. Judy was excited by the arts of Cuba on her first trip, taking photographs and using them in classes she taught at Lifelong learning Academy. Amazed at the rich milieu of art and artists in Cuba, Judy returned as a CubArtEdu delegate to attend the “Havana Art Biennial in 2015.” She has returned several times to photograph the beauty and the people that are inherent to Cuba. Judy is pleased to share her knowledge and enthusiasm through the Arts in Cuban Culture: Architectural Restoration, Visual Arts, Dance and Music program.

The Arts in Cuban Culture: Architectural Restoration, Visual Arts, Dance and Music
November, 2018
Limited to 12 participants
Deadline for Registration – June 1, 2018

The Arts in Cuban Culture travel program provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn how architectural restoration is integrated with visual arts, dance, and music to create a self-sustaining urban development effort in Old Havana. To participate in this process, delegates will stay at a bed and breakfast and share daily experiences with the Cuban people. Cuban experts in the areas of architectural history and restoration; contemporary visual arts; and dance and music will conduct interactive seminars. Cuban students attending architecture, visual arts, music and dance schools will be attending the seminars and afternoon activities with the group to allow for people-to-people exchanges during the day. Each seminar will be followed by field trips to restored architectural sites (or those in the process of restoration), fine arts, music and dance museum; participation in the Old Havana City in Motion Dance Festival; art restoration workshops; demonstrations by contemporary dance companies and evening venues to experience Cuban art, dance, and music.

Judy Levine, Guest Faculty, Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy

Program Package Fee

What is Included?

Six nights at a Bed and Breakfast
Six breakfasts and two dinners
Ground transportation in air-conditioned vans
Admission to all sites and activities on the itinerary
Professional, bilingual program leader
Pre-departure orientation and information session
Travel guide for a safe and fun trip
Presentations by Cuban experts in art history, architectural restoration, music and dance
Field trips to Old Havana and Parque Central, guided by Old Havana restoration expert
Private in-studio demonstrations by Cuban dance company
Panoramic tour of Havana
Educational / people-to people license to travel
Tips for B&B staff, servers in included meals, museum docents and drivers

What is Not Included?

$275 (estimate) round-trip airfare to Havana from Tampa on Southwest Airlines.'

(Instructions to buy airline tickets will be provided after registration deadline. Tickets will be

booked online with Southwest Airlines using miles or a credit card; health insurance while

in Cuba is included in the airfare.)

$50 Cuban tourist visa

(Instructions to buy the visa will be provided after registration deadline.You may purchase

the visa online before departure or at the Southwest check-in counter

on the day of departure).

Six lunches and five dinners
Airfare for a connecting flight to Tampa, if traveling to Florida from another state
Hotel accommodations (the night before departure), if traveling to Florida from another state
Trip interruption and cancellation insurance

For a Registration Packet

Please visit ourContact Uspage and provide all required Information. As soon as we hear from you, we will email a registration packet with required forms and instructions. You can also call us at 978-998-0039.

Payment Options - Program Package

Cashier's Check or Credit Card
PLEASE VISIT OUR PAYMENT PAGE

Timetable for Registration and Payments

Registration Documents Deadline
50% of Program Package Cost

45 days before departure
50% balance due of Program Package Cost

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations after registration and before second (2nd) payment:
50% refund

Cancellations after second (2nd) payment:
No refund

Itinerary

DAY 1 - ARRIVE

Our flight from Tampa to Havana will take about one hour. Once in Havana, we will be on our way to our Bed and Breakfast to drop off our luggage; next we take a panoramic tour of the city and have lunch in Old Havana. After lunch, we head back to our B&B to check-in. You will have free time to relax before we will gather for a welcome dinner.

DAY 2 - VISUAL ARTS

We begin with breakfast at our B&B followed by an interactive seminar with a Cuban art historian who will facilitate a conversation about the most interesting developments in Cuban contemporary arts as these relate to a more general state of affairs in Cuban society during the last decades. The seminar will be based on work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts-Cuban Collection, to be visited in the afternoon. A group of visual arts students will be invited to attend the seminar and participate in field trips and visits during the afternoon. After the seminar and lunch we will visit the Cuban Art Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts. The Cuban Art Collection is the most comprehensive display of artwork—spanning nearly three centuries. The Cuban visual arts students will accompany US delegates to provide additional information about the exhibits as they relate to the morning seminar and to their experiences as students of the visual arts. In the evening, we will have dinner and visit the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) (Cuban Arts Factory.) FAC is the initiative of renowned Cuban musician X-Alfonso. The groundbreaking project uses nightlife as a platform for numerous cultural activities, art exhibits, performances, jazz concerts, even a film screening—all in the same venue on the same night.

DAY 3 – COLONIAL ARCHITECTURAL RESTORATION

After breakfast, a Cuban architect will facilitate the seminar about architectural restoration projects in Old Havana and the Cuban experience using the arts in these efforts. A group of architecture students will be invited to attend the seminar and participate in field trip during the afternoon. Founded in 1519, UNESCO declared Old Havana Universal Patrimony of Humanity. After the seminar, we will visit Old Havana for a guided walking field trip with an architect. We will visit three of the five plazas in Old Havana with stops to the Experimental Graphic Design Workshop, Colonial Arts Museum, Palace of Captain Generals, and the Museum of the City of Havana. An art center to visit will be the Jean Baptieste Vermay Painting Restoration Workshop. This workshop is in charge of restoring all canvas paintings considered national patrimony and exhibited in different museums and public spaces. Delegates and Cuban architecture students will be able to understand the technical challenges faced by restoration artists during the Old Havana restoration project. As we walk though the city we will interact with the general public and dancers participating in the 2018 City in Motion Dance Festival. The idea behind this festival is to draw attention to the city’s architecture and encourage the exchange of ideas and artistic experiences between local residents and the people of different languages and cultures visiting Cuba. The festival will have the participation of 15 countries and 40 dance companies dancing in plazas, courtyards and museums in the old city.

DAY 4 – REPUBLICAN ARCHITECTURAL RESTORATION

We begin with an overview of the architectural restoration efforts in the area of Parque Central (Central Park). An architect, who specializes in the restoration of republican-era buildings in Parque Central, will lead us on a walking field trip of the Manzana Kempinski Hotel, the Capitol Building, and the Alicia Alonso Theater — all jewels of Cuban architecture. A group of architecture students will be invited to attend the seminar and participate in field trip during the afternoon. An art center to visit will be the Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Restoration School. This educational institution belonging to the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana is facilitating the learning of crafts for architectural restoration in Havana. Specialists are trained in the rescue of the trades of property restoration. Delegates will be able to explore the different workshops and have conversations with faculty and students. After the walking visit, we will travel to Revolution Square to visit the Jose Marti Memorial. Inaugurated in 1996, on the 143rd anniversary of Marti’s birth, the memorial contains original documents, relics, and engravings related to the life and work of the Cuban Apostle. The obelisk tower is the highest lookout point over the city at nearly 455 feet (138.5 meters) above sea level. Our last stop is the Hotel Nacional and a walking tour of its facilities. Opened in 1930, the hotel shows eclectic style architecture with Art Deco, Moorish, Neoclassical, and Neocolonial characteristics. Hotel Nacional was home for guests such as Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan), Edward VIII (Prince of Wales), Jack Dempsey, Errol Flynn, the Duke of Windsor, Carol II of Romania, Mario Moreno (Cantinflas), Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth, Prince Ali Khan, Ernest Hemingway, Fred Astaire, Cesar Romero, and Gary Cooper among others.

DAY 5 – MUSIC

We will begin the day with a seminar by a musician to learn about Cuban music. A group of music students from the School of Cuban Music will be invited to attend the seminar and participate in field trip during the afternoon. After the presentation, through a guided visit with a museum docent, delegates and students will learn about the development of music and the musical instruments in Cuba from the XVI Century until now. After this visit delegates will participate in a conversation and demonstration with faculty and students at the School of Cuban Music. Here will have the opportunity to learn Cuban music through its most representative instruments: claves, maracas, bongó, timbales … Almost all are percussion or serve to set the beat, and are excellent accompanists of melodic instruments such as guitar and violin.

DAY 6 – DANCE

The history of classical ballet in Cuba is internationally known through the work of Alicia Alonso and the Cuban National Ballet Company. Through a seminar with an expert in Cuban dance, we will get a better understanding of the contributions made by ballet dance in Cuba and its impact on contemporary dance companies. The seminar will be delivered at the Fernando Alonso National Ballet School, followed by a demonstration by faculty and students. The morning seminar will set the context for a gallery walk of the National Museum of Dance followed by a demonstration and conversation with dancers of a The Teatro Danza Retazos Company, organizers of the City in Motion Festival. This field trip will conclude by attend dance activities presented by the 2018 Old Havana City in Motion Dance Festival. To finish our adventure and say “hasta luego, Cuba,” we will enjoy a farewell dinner followed by a unique dance experience at the Parisiene Nightclub at the Nacional Hotel. The show called “Cubano, Cubano,” is a representation of the history of Cuban culture with Indo-American, Spanish, and African dances and music. To finish the night, there will be dance lessons for anyone who wants to learn how to rumba!

DAY 7 - DEPART

After a final breakfast with an evaluation of the program, followed by checkout and lunch, we will travel to José Martí International Airport for departure.

Bed and Breakfast selected will depend on availability at the time of registration deadline and rooming needs.

Danza Teatro Retazos