Gaia (Havana)
Encyclopedia
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, set up on January 1, 2000 as a not-for-profit collaboration between Cuban and international artists.http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2006/dec/17/escape.culturaltrips.cuba http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904978835
The centre offers theatre, music and dance performances, workshops, programs for children and the physically disadvantaged, and exhibitions of works by young artists. Gaia Teatro, the centre's resident theatre company, has produced some interesting works: Las cenizas de Ruth was director Esther Cardoso
Esther Cardoso
Esther Cardoso is a Cuban film and theater actress, producer, director and educator.A graduate of the Instituto Superior de Arte, she holds a doctorate in Stage Arts. Cardoso was a co-founder of two of Cuba's leading theater companies, Teatro Buendia and Argos Teatro...
's radical reinterpretation of the biblical story of Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
. Los Reyes was a staging of Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
's version of the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. And Reciclaje used recycled items for wardrobe to explore environmental themes. http://www.actualidadescenica.cult.cu/Teheran_Aguilar.htm http://www.cniae.cult.cu/eduardo_eimil.htm In collaboration with the British Council, Gaia staged a rehearsed reading of Cooking with Elvis, by Lee Hall
Lee Hall (playwright)
Lee Hall is an English playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the 2000 film Billy Elliot.-Early life:...
, directed by British director Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
, in the Teatro Nacional in 2000. Eight years later, on October 4, 2008, the show finally premiered, in the Sala Avellaneda at the Teatro Nacional. http://www.granma.cubasi.cu/2008/10/21/cultura/artic02.html http://www.actualidadescenica.cult.cu/cocinando_conElvis.htm It was the first new British play performed in Cuba since An Inspector Calls opened in 1947. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904978835 http://www.cubanow.net/pages/loader.php?sec=35&t=2&item=5553
Gaia Dance has collaborated with world-renowned Cuban ballerina Viengsay Valdes
Viengsay Valdés
-Early life:Born in Havana, Viengsay Valdés moved at three months to Laos, where her father was the Cuban Ambassador. At age three, her family moved to the Seychelles. At six, she moved back to Havana, Cuba, where her grandmother continued her education....
on a production of Balance of Ice, a contemporary dance piece inspired by the sounds of ice sheets calving. The piece was directed by Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
, and featured music by Canadian composer Andrew Staniland. which can be viewed on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlLQOBBQ0Jw
On the last Saturday of every month, Gaia hosts a mask workshop for children in the morning, and, at 5pm, a unique theatrical event, called Felices Los Normales (Happy the Normal). Targeted at Cubans with HIV/AIDS – and the community surrounding them -- the program is directed by inspirational activist Carlos Borbon. He and his group, Teatro Espontaneo, invite participants to come forward to tell an HIV-related story which is then enacted by a group of professional actors and musicians. The stories are moving and dramatic, and the atmosphere is electric. In December 2006, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
presented the company with an award for its efforts in combating HIV/AIDS. http://playbacknet.org/interplay/Previousissues/April%2003/cubascott.htm
Gaia also has a 'Casa de Mascara', teaching the techniques and traditions of masks to children and adults, and taking promenade performances into the streets of Old Havana.
Gaia has hosted numerous exhibitions of Cuban and international artists, including Leysis Quesada Vera, Angel Delgado, Catherine Bertola, Paul Rooney and US artist Scott Griesbach. http://lastofthecantineros.com/pages/leysis.html. In 2006, it put on an exhibition -- Kachita, Mango y el Jim -- startlingly documenting the havoc caused by two hurricanes that flooded the city in 2005.
Gaia has staged performances by musicians such as Chucho Valdes, http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1998/1998grammy.htm Tony Perez, Los Jovenes Clasicos del Son, Sonora Matancera
Sonora Matancera
La Sonora Matancera is a long-time band. Led by guitarist and vocalist Rogelio Martínez, La Sonora Matancera has been called, by the Guinness Book of World Records, "the group with the longest duration."...
, Alicia Bustamante, Gaia Jazz, and Aris Garit.http://members.tripod.com/~YOMAR/SONORA_MATANCERA.html It offers percussion lessons for foreign music students.
Gaia Teatro is located at Calle Brazil (Teniente Rey) #157, between Cuba y Aguiar, La Habana Vieja.http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2006/dec/17/escape.culturaltrips.cuba In 2007, Gaia embarked on major construction work to create permanent workshops for its arts and community activities, including the building of a new semi-outdoors performance space.