Afro-Cuban classes: Manolo Vasquez
Translated from the French original — read it here.
Classes taken in Mexico City, March 2015
I was lucky enough to already have friends in Mexico City before the trip. Whenever I asked them which classes to take in their city, one name came back every single time: Manolo Vasquez.
I'd never heard of Manolo before this trip, which tells you how little I knew :-S . Manolo is a legend of the dance, more or less the inventor of the técnica cubana. He has serious classical training and, of course, he has complete command of the Afro-Cuban dances. The man has trained an enormous number of teachers, Lesvia among them — she's the one who taught me in Santiago. Eshu, who taught me in Buenos Aires, wasn't trained by Manolo directly, but his father was... Yes, it really is a small world :-D.
With Manolo I took "afro danza" classes, which is basically a blend of Afro-Cuban and contemporary dance. I also took contemporary classes and rumba classes.
Meet Manolo: