Rosario Cardenas. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
Rosario Cardenas believes that the body is multilateral. dance. He moves his hands in time with the sound. Close your eyes and shake the music. It breaks up the body through the contrasts of all parts of the human silhouette. He tried all the time to break the physical front. It’s like a leaf in the wind just drifting.
“In my choreography, I present the dancer as a sculpture. I look for a way that allows the viewer to be able to see many parts and aspects of the same show.”
The Cuban dancer does not know the key to success. If there is a formula, it must be connected with constant work, perseverance, risk and above all trying to be consistent with oneself.
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How do you react when all eyes are on you?
“It is difficult because I am very shy. It is better not to think about it.”
And when does no one look at her?
“I’ve always been very restless. At the same time, reflective.
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Rosario Cardenas. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
–Why did you choose to dance?
“No one in my family had a profession related to art. My father was a journalist and my mother was an extraordinary teacher. I chose art because I loved it and especially dancing. Music too.
At the time we were living in Matanzas and I gave classical ballet lessons with a teacher at the Sauto Theatre. All the time I was practicing and practicing, until the National School of Dance opened and my mother auditioned for entry. They agreed to me and I entered the specialty of modern and folk dance.
Why this major in dance arts?
At that time there were no schools or companies that appeared later. There was only the National School of Dance and auditions were conducted in classical ballet and choreography. I’ve always believed that dancing is a path to more freedom.”
– What did the National School of Dance bring to your career?
“Essentially, the association with other manifestations of art. We all studied together: dancers, musicians, painters, actors, and made connections that still exist today. We had an enduring relationship and this allowed us to be close to knowing those other artistic aspects.”
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What decision or project did you take that you are most proud of?
“Every play I’ve ever done. I like that moment when I make a decision to do something. It’s hard. It’s heartbreaking processes, but since they are born of the same, they are a force of their own that supports you.”
-What is the biggest mistake I’ve made?
“I don’t know. I think life is what it is.”
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Rosario Cardenas. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
When Rosario Cardenas graduated from the National School of Dance, there were only three companies in the country: the National Ballet of Cuba, the National Folklore and the National Modern Dance Troupe, which today has become the contemporary dance of Cuba. She was placed in this last artistic unit and from that moment devoted all her time to dancing. Sometimes, they had to teach some classes at school.
“It was exciting to get out of school and face the audience for the first time. In that company were the dancers who were trained by Ramiro Guerra and when we arrived, we trained in an academy, it was like meeting a generation. This change from student to professional life is difficult, but I was immersed in this delusion By wanting to dance all the time. We spent the day training and practicing.”
If you ask about hydrangeas in her way of dancing, the artist says that there are things that are inherent. “When you’re obviously Cuban, that feeling comes to you whenever you create.”
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-How do you know yourself?
“I think it’s best not to define yourself because doing that limits you. It’s like being square. I don’t like it. I like freedom.”
How do you want to remember when you go?
“With will.”
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Rosario Cardenas during her company rehearsals. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
Why did you decide to create your own company?
“I spent 19 years in contemporary dance in Cuba. At that time I began to feel the need to prepare dancers with personal training. I wanted to have time for my own productions, because in a national company many of us were involved in the production of a certain work, and it was always the period of investigation Say I needed to explore not only movement, but body composition in general and investigate the work of the choreography itself.
“I created the company in 1989 as Danza Combinatoria, and later in 2003, I decided to give it my name so that my business identity would be more clear. This decision was maintained that fusion dance was the method of work and creativity that I developed and that I have applied to this day.”
What are the advantages of Rosario Cardenas?
“All the works we present have a poetic journey in general. They try to convey concerns and questions to the viewer. The goal is to always remain with something spiritual, beyond just the fact of enjoyment. That the show has some learning, even when there is a possibility that the audience will reject the work, because in The same refusal there is something that drives that spectator to his decision. The purpose is that there is knowledge behind everything.”
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What is your biggest flaw?
“honesty”.
– And virtue?
“honesty”.
What do you prefer to do in your spare time?
“Sometimes I improvise. I listen to music. I like to read and draw. Watch. Spending time with my friends. I like it.”
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Rosario Cardenas during her company rehearsals. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
In 1992, Rosario Cardenas graduated with a gold medal with a Bachelor of Dance Arts from the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. In 2013 he was awarded the National Dance Award.
The dancer does not believe that in her career there was a moment that meant before and after. “Everything is continuity. Nothing one does in the present comes by itself; everything is woven in time. It is never finished, neither in learning nor in delivery.”
Regarding teaching, he says that after 10 years of dancing he started doing his first choreographies, but when he set up his own company, he totally immersed himself in teaching. “I myself prepared the dancers. I trained while I was dancing. From there my educational career begins like this.”
He answers when you ask about his devotion to art: “You work with such dedication, and even when you are young, that you don’t notice so much effort.”
“Then you grow up, and because you have the vitality and spirit of dedication, you finish the day without realizing how much you work.”
Rosario Cardenas says she is satisfied if she gives an overview of her life. “I am aware of all the work I have done. I have made a way for myself and tried to be consistent with myself, whether people like it or not. I don’t know when people started respecting me more or appreciating my work more. There are only a few of them.”
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-What is your biggest dream?
“That Cuban companies will have more continuity in their international outlook. I include the person I direct.”
-What are you afraid of?
To mice.
If a new person enters your life, what can you do to get to know him better?
“Speak a lot.”
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Rosario Cardenas at the Temple of Aphrodite in Cyprus. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
What does community work mean?
When we started working in the National Company, a very beautiful job was done of raising awareness in the public. Although they weren’t named that, they were great community activities and thanks to them the audience grew into dancing. Outdoor platforms were set up in many places and we danced there. We went to the military units and acted. Gradually they began to take us more seriously. At the time we didn’t know we were building an audience.
“Those were times when there were practically no dance troupes. The times when we only had five spectators in a show. Later, theaters were packed thanks to the same formation. At that time, culture was shared with the audience; it was understood that it should be given a level Aesthetically high, it’s not just what the audience wants, unlike today that sees this adjustment between what I want to teach and what the audience wants to have. This has to be set broad.”
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What would you like to do and not do now?
“I no longer have the same confidence in myself to dance in greater proportions. At this age one does not respond in the same way. There are times when I think how much I would like to play a certain role, but one does not realize that you do not have the vitality to carry. You always have to know how to retire. At the exact time “.
If everything disappeared and only one thing could be saved, what would it be?
“the love”.
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Rosario Cardenas. Photo: Courtesy of guest.
There is no specific work that Rosario Cardenas refers to as “the one that cost her the most work” because of the love she has always danced with.
“I worked with several choreographers for the National Company, and later in the group I run, I did several choreographies myself, developing the personal language where I felt most comfortable. I danced Noctario, Maria Vivan and many more. He played each of these Roles influenced me in artistic talk.”
The dancer has many definitions of dance. If he has to choose one, he says that a multisensory space is being drawn, and at the same time, there comes a time when it becomes ephemeral.
He loves all aspects of art. Had she not been a dancer, she would have devoted herself to painting, but had chosen body movement as her way of life. Dancing hasn’t taken anything away from Rosario Cardenas. It gave him pleasure, love, and the satisfaction of knowing man from a broader dimension. From the person you only know when you close your eyes and start dancing.
Video by Rosario Cardenas
