Miami  – The 18th Annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival, August 11 – 13, will get South Florida dancing once again to the sweet rhythms of Cuba. The festival is a celebration of Afro-Cuban culture through dance and music, featuring workshops, panel discussion, live performances, after parties, and the premiere of the new choreography Ciudad de Orishas (City of Orishas). All events will take place at Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center, 2705 S.W. 3rd St.  

Founded by world-renowned choreographer and dancer Neri Torres through her non-profit organization, IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company, the festival welcomes everyone, from novices to professionals, to participate in a variety of classes and workshops over the course of three days, including son, salsa, rueda, rumba (guaguanco, columbia & Yambu), Gaga from the Eastern part of Cuba, orishas, reggaeton, and Afro-Modern, among other dance disciplines.        

Afro-Cuban traditions have impacted music, fashion, visual arts, literature, and dance through rich mythology and cosmogony. This year’s festival centers on the fusion of Santeria traditions in urban settings as a testament of the continuous influx of the Cuban exodus for more than 50 years. In addition, there will be a panel discussion, Cuban Modern Dance: A Tribute to Victor Cuellar, dedicated to the late Cuban choreographer Victor Cuellar. IFE-ILE musicians will perform following the panel. 

Choreographed by Torres, Ciudad de Orishas will premiere at 8 p.m., on Saturday, August 13. This special performance is a collaboration with guest Afro-House singer Frank Oba Lords and DJ Oscar G, who fuse Afro-House compositions by Lords with traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms to recreate the symbolic essence of the orishas (deities) and their pervasive presence in today’s life. Meet the artists after the performance at the theater lobby.

To register, or for more information about the Festival, please call Neri Torres at 786-704-8609, or visit www.ife-ile.org. Follow IFE-ILE: Twitter @IFEILE | Instagram @ifeiledance | www.facebook.com/ifeiledance.