Barrio Ballet

I actually went out and did something cultural last night, and it felt sooooooo good. It was a last minute arrangement - someone at school asked if I wanted to go see ''some dance thing''. I generally enjoy ''dance things'' so I accepted.

When I was little, my mom used to take my sister and I to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It was an event - a trip to the big city, our fanciest dresses...We saw classics like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and Giselle. Friday night's performance was also a ballet, but nothing like I remember (though I did wear a dress, which I haven't done in years...) The Instituto Colombiano de Ballet Clasico from the city of Cali, here in Colombia, presented two shows. The first, featuring electrotango music, was called Tangueandonos, and was choreographed by an Argentine.

Here is a sample

The second part, twice as long as the first, told the history of salsa dancing, which is one of the defining characteristics of Cali region. I was a bit confused at first when women came out in full English garb dancing to what sounded like Greensleeves, but apparently Salsa dancing has its origin in traditional European dance. The story after this is a confusing mix of African and Cuban rhythms which I have yet to sort out. The end result though is a different version of Salsa in each area where it is played and danced, and Cali is famous for its salsa dancers. It is natural then that they would want to tell its story, and while I had some doubts about how well salsa and ballet would go together, I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and the company.