The Stagings of Afro-Cuban Traditions: A Comparative Study

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Cuban folkloric performance has been the subject of wide study from numerous disciplinary perspectives. In the spirit of “LASA at 50,” this panel reconsiders accepted tenets about the significance of folkloric performance for individuals, religious communities, and audiences in Cuba and abroad. This involves “updating” rhythmic perceptions, autoethnography, dialoguing with performers, and reimagining history. With dance practitioner-scholars, anthropologists, and historians, this panel moves the conversation into different disciplinary directions to find new views on folkloric performances. We demonstrate how the cultural events examined prove to be complex, embodied experiences for performers and audience members alike.

Sub Track

• Performance and Visual Studies

Chair

• Neri Torres, University of the West Indies, Cavehill Campus

Individual Presentations

• Una rumba pa’Ochún: Race, Folklore, and Syncopation in an “updating” Cuba - Maya J Berry, University of Texas at Austin

• Embodying Afro Feminism: “Women Orishas” dance, (W)rite and Healing - Yesenia Fernandez Selier, NYU

• Reimagining Community: Cuban Folkloric Dance, Diplomacy, and Collectivity, 1970-1990 - Elizabeth Schwall, Columbia University

Discussant

• Neri Torres, University of the West Indies, Cavehill Campus