page_title: La tecnica cubana
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: La tecnica cubana / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: my stuff
context_page_description: La técnica cubana, often abbreviated as técnica, is a form of Cuban contemporary dance that was founded by Ramiro Guerra Suarez in Cuba in 1959. Unlike other forms of traditional Cuban dance, técnica fuses many different dance forms together, such as those from Africa, Europe, and North America. It is a highly expressive and robust dance form, incorporating many quick jumps and undulating movements of the torso and pelvis. Técnica blends a high amount of movement and expression with a degree of synchronization, producing an athletic, theatrical dance form.
  Técnica was founded directly following the 1959 Cuban Revolution. The Revolution was driven by ideas of socialism and a lack of Cuban nationalism, which brought about major change to the political, economical, and social realms of Cuba. The new Castro regime provided funding and government support to expand the arts, and thus técnica, a new revolutionary Cuban dance form was established. The similar timing of técnica’s birth allowed the dance form to incorporate many revolutionary ideas—boosting Cuban nationalism and providing a sense of national and personal identity for Cubans.
context_section_description: La técnica cubana was founded in Cuba in 1959 and is intimately linked to revolutionary ideals and social activism. The Cuban Revolution of 1959, led by Fidel Castro, transformed the Cuban economy and enacted a series of progressive social reforms in which wealth was redistributed, health care services became free of charge, and racial boundaries were diminished. Cuban nationalism was on the rise for the first time since before Spanish control. The revolutionary government employed culture as a way to unite the Cuban population and promote nationalism. In keeping with this effort to promote Cuban culture, Castro's new regime fostered expansion of the arts by encouraged the creation of new art forms. Castro's government appointed Ramiro Guerra, an accomplished dancer and choreographer, as the director of the Department of Modern Dance, housed within the Teatro Nacional (English: National Theatre) in the Plaza de la Revolución in Cuba.
  The goal of the department was to create a dance group with original repertory that was rooted in an original Cuban contemporary dance style. Guerra and his colleagues thus founded a contemporary dance group, Conjunto Nacional de Danza Moderna (English: The National Modern Dance Ensemble) with support from the new Castro regime. This group gave técnica a mandate and a place to grow and develop. Although the group had the benefit of Guerra's leadership, it was created with influences from a group of people, including Martha Graham, José Limón, among others. This distinguishes técnica from other modern dance groups, as most other groups originated and were associated with a specific individual. In this way, técnica naturally reflected the wide range of Cuban movement intelligence, rather than the sole artistic genius of one person. Conjunto Nacional de Danza Moderna was officially established in 1959 and held its first show in 1960 at the Teatro Nacional in Havana. The financial support of the revolutionary government contributed to great initial success, as the dancers and creators of técnica did not have to rely on outside jobs for income, finance rehearsal space, or commission compositions. Técnica was created with the social backing of the new regime and aimed to link the power of dance with Cuban national image. As a result, técnica was a key component of the intellectual socialist production of the new revolutionary Cuba in 1959. Guerra incorporated nationalist ideals of inclusion into his work by combining academic dance elements with popular traditions on the streets, which he then raised to a national level. This new dance language not only reflected Cuban history and experience, but also provided space to accommodate the rapidly changing culture. Guerra had the dream to bring together groups of dancers from different cultural backgrounds to contribute to the Cuban ajiaco, or stew. His dance company consisted of 12 white and 12 black dancers from both amateur and professional backgrounds of Afro-Cuban dance, nightclub dance, and ballet. La técnica cubana constantly transcended the boundaries of dance with respect to behavior, culture, and aesthetic. The group that Guerra founded and led for eleven years is presently known as Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and is now led by Miguel A. Iglesias Ferrer.
caption: Teatro Nacional in Havana Cuba
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