The Cuban Groove

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Isbert Ramos Mediceja - AKA Vivio - often says, 'Dance is life and life is a dance." It's a beautiful sentiment - that connection formed between dancers; the way dance makes you work together and move around each other in harmony. And let's not forget that endorphin boost - so you leave feeling great!

Vivio has had a huge influence on the Cuban Dance community in New Zealand. If you ask people where they learned to dance - most will mention Vivio at least once. His repetoire of dance styles is astounding. We thought we knew about most of them - but he just dropped another style we'd never heard of into his memories below. 

The Cuban Groove is bringing us Body Movement and Afro Cuban Contemporary workshops this year. If you want to learn how to dance with every part of your body and soul - these are the workshops for you. Vivio is the maestro!

Vivio  is also playing with Ke Lo Ke! on Saturday night.

A conversation with Vivio about his first train trip to dance school in Havana kicked off this dance memory journey.
Here are some of his incredible dance moments:

1. What is your earliest memory of dancing? 

When I was a small child living in Guantanamo (in the south of Cuba), I was out in the street with our neighbours, the local musicians were performing and everyone was joining in with singing or playing instruments and dancing. And, of course, rum was being handed around.

I vividly remember dancing with a lady on the gravel. It was a new kind of dance called Coyude and as we moved, clouds of dust billowed up from the gravel. Afterwards, everyone started clapping and cheering for us, and I looked down at the ground and the gravel was swept completely clean.

 

For me, it was a premonition of sorts that I would later become a professional dancer. I had a thing for dancing even at that young age and the older ladies must have liked my moves because they kept asking me to dance all of the time.

I guess that was the beginning of my dancing journey.

2. What is the memory of dancing that brings you the most joy/that brings a smile to your face?

There are a lot of happy memories as I’ve been dancing for a very long time but, if I had to choose one of them, it was when I gave my debut dancing a duet in the production of Okantomi (which means ‘with all my heart’ in Yoruba), a choreography by the iconic Cuban dance maestro Eduardo Rivero. It was a masterful piece for my dance company Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, it was difficult to do and symbolised one of Rivero’s two most famous choreographies. The other was called Sulkari, which I performed around the world for years.

3.  What is your most dramatic dance memory?

I must have been about 11 years old, and studying in Havana. My most dramatic moment was the first time I went up on the stage to perform. It was at the Teatro Miramar in Playa and I saw the audience for the first time. I completely freaked out in the middle of the stage and started peeing myself — literally! I was frozen for a moment before one of my colleagues called me and said, “Vivio, what are you doing?” It sharply brought me back to reality and I realised that I had to quickly react and keep doing the choreography. Fortunately, no one noticed and having that first stage fright seemed to break the spell from then on.

4. Who else in your family dances? 

My grandma taught me Son when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My mum and everyone in the family would dance for fun at home and at parties. I very grateful to have been born in a country where dancing is a way of life.

5. Do you have a memory of dancing that makes you laugh?

When I was touring with the dance company in Germany, we dancers didn’t have a lot of money to buy takeaway food or anything for that matter, so we would cook in our hotel room, which we weren’t supposed to do. One time, we were cooking Cuban beans and rice on a little portable stove and that little thing sparked and blew out the electricity in the entire hotel.
Everyone was running around like headless chickens squealing and trying to hide the appliances and avoid any blame.

The Cuban Groove brings an infectious energy to whatever they touch, whether it be teaching dance; performing at national and international festivals, events, parties and shows; judging major salsa competitions; or appearing on television and film.

They run Rueda classes - filled with styling from Afro-Cuban; Rumba; Cha Cha Cha and Son -  on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in the Grey Lynn Library Hall, Auckland. Watch their Facebook page for fun pop-up classes during summer!


Find them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thecubangroove

Or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecubangroove/

Or email cubanos@gmail.com