Abelardo is very excited to be sharing Cuba’s rich dance and musical heritage in an artistic collaboration with the RWA. As part of this, he will be running Beginners Cuban Salsa classes for 6 weeks over the Summer. 

These classes are open to people of all ages and abilities. They are for people who are completely new to Salsa. You will learn the timing and basic steps. Everyone picks these up at their own pace. You can attend as few or as many of these classes as you like. 

There is no need to bring a partner, just bring yourself, some comfortable shoes and lots of enthusiasm!  

Abelardo is a Cuban Dance teacher who learnt to dance on the streets of Old Havana, Cuba. He embodies the vibrant, energetic spirit of his beloved city and like many Cubans, dance comes as naturally to Abelardo as walking and talking. In Havana Abelardo taught salsa to locals and tourists from all over the world. He soon had his own following who would fly to Havana just to get dance classes with Abelardo. 

He used to watch the stilt Dancers of old Havana in awe as a child. They would perform traditional AfroCuban dances of the Orishas in colourful costumes. Desperate to join them, he taught himself to walk and dance on stilts using his house for support! It wasn’t long before he became their star perfomer and chief choreographer. In fact, he became such a familiar face in Havana that there used to be a life size picture of him welcoming tourists in the international airport! 

You can catch Aberlardo performing as part of Dances of Diaspora, on the RWA forecourt Saturday 09 May!