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| afro-cuban traditions : shows : festival : classes & workshops : lectures & seminars |
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IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance & Music Festival Staff/Instructors Festival Director: Neri Torres Assistants to the Director: Musicians: Dance Instructors
Music Instructors
Yofvani Gonzalez graduated form both Escuela Nacional de Artes and Instituto Superior de Artes in Havana, Cuba in Afro-Cuban Dance and Music. Founder of Oche, the first Afro-Cuban dance Company in Villa Clara, Cuba in 1996, Yofvani was also member of the renowned Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba where he worked for over a year. In addition, he participated in several festivals and dance competitions both national and internationally. After fulfilling a contract with the University of Monterrey Campus, Guadalajara, he relocated to Miami in 2005, the year he joined IFE-ILE Dance Company.
Yanitzia Mizrahi graduated from Havana's Escuela Nacional de Instructores de Artes in 1989, specializing in dance instruction and performance. Currently she is an instructor of Afro-Cuban dance, Salsa, and Cuban traditional dances for several dance institutions and venues in Italy. Her repertoire includes work with Oscar de Leon, El Canario, the late Celia Cruz, Albita Rodriguez, Roselyn Sanchez and the new Andy Garcia movie, "The Lost City."
Cuban-born Ezequiel Torres is one of the most renowned batá drummers and batá drum craftsmen in the U.S. He performs at religious and traditional celebrations, festivals and events throughout the world (Spain, Trinidad, Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc.), playing batá, agbé (guiro), cajón and Yesá. As an Omó Añá and Olubatá, he can play and has made consecrated bata drums. He specializes in making batás, congas, chekerés, cajones and the beautiful beaded tapestries that "dress" the batá. He has conducted workshops at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and was a curator, consultant and exhibitor for the Historical Museum of Southern Florida's exhibits, At the Crossroads, Afro-Cuban Orisha Arts and Caribbean Percussion Traditions in Miami, where his batá drums were on display. He learned the complex tradition of batá drumming and Orisha chanting in Havana, Cuba, from legendary Afro-Cuban griots of these Afro-Cuban cultural traditions. Ezequiel was also featured in the 1995 film "The Perez Family," along with the late Celia Cruz. Festival participants may be able to arrange additional private or group lessons with Ezequiel during their stay in Miami. Please contact us for more details.
Award-winning choreographer Neri Torres is the founder and director of IFE-ILE and the annual Afro-Cuban dance and music festival. Born in Havana, Cuba, Neri defected to the U.S. in 1991 and turned her passion for dance and cultural advocacy into a successful career spanning more than twenty years. Trained in jazz, ballet, modern, and Afro-Cuban dance, Torres has choreographed, written, directed and performed numerous shows (from musicals, movies, commercials to videos) before thousands of captivated and enthralled audiences. Neri is a leader in Miami's arts and culture community, whose numerous awards include a Proclamation by the City of Miami and a Fellowship and Certificate of Artistic Merit from the State of Florida. She is also a cultural ambassador, who has performed in nearly every continent in the world and in dozens of countries, where we has choreographed, written and performed in numerous shows. Trained in jazz, ballet, modern, contemporary and Afro-Cuban dance, Torres is a graduate of Havana’s Instituto Superior de Artes where she majored in choreography. She has toured with and been the principal dancer and choreographer for Gloria Estefan. Born in Havana, Cuba, Guerra at an early age became a member of the Teatro America dancing and singing school. He studied and greaduted from both Escuela Vocacional de Artes and the Escuela Nacional de Artes Guerra danced for several companies and venues in Cuba such as the Parisien cabaret, the JJ traditional Afro-Cuban dance company as well as other contemporary and folkloric companies including choreographer Santiago Alfonso's. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Miami, Florida, Petagay is a lover and supporter of the visual and performing arts. She has studied and performed various dance styles and techniques including ballet, modern, West African, and Caribbean. Upon completing her undergraduate studies at New York University, Petagay founded Harambee Inc., while working as an English teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Petagay serves as the Executive Director of Harambee, a cultural organization for children. At present, she is an MFA candidate from the University of North Carolina.
Penny Pitterson is a founding member, director and choreographer of The Roots & Culture Dance Ensemble, Inc. Dancing from an early age in Jamaica, she specializes in Afro-Caribbean and African dance. Throughout the years, Penny has performed with, and choreographed for, several dance companies in New York and South Florida, including the Body Nation Dance Company, LaRocque Bey Dance Company, Chiumba-Imani, Abeng, Delou African Dance, Recreate and Move and Children of the Caribbean. She is also currently a performing member of Venus Rising, an all-women drum and dance ensemble.
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Yofvani
Gonzalez (Orishas, Rumba Columbia, Arará)
