Susana Arenas Pedroso/Duniya Dance and Drum Company

Raíces et Résistance (or Roots and Resistance in Spanish / French) is a new collaboration between Afro-Cuban choreographer Susana Arenas Pedroso and the Guinean (and South Asian) arts organization Duniya Dance and Drum Company. The project will be presented through Dance Mission Theater’s Liberation Academy. Together, we’ll create and tour a dance and music performance inspired by the multi-faceted and largely unexplored cultural/political exchange that emerged between Guinea, West Africa and Cuba following Guinea's independence from France. The work draws on Pedroso’s hard hitting Afro-Cuban choreography, Guinea’s legacy of national dance and music companies, and Afro-Latinx and African immigrant identities.  

Often stories of African and Caribbean nations are predicated on their relationships to the white western world. This project, while related to the history of colonization, looks at independent nations carving out their own identities – inspiring collectivity and community, and celebrating how people can emerge from collective trauma through art.

Land acknowledgement: Ramaytush Ohlone
Estimated artist fee: $20,000-28,000/performance; $30,000- 35,000/week

Websites

• Arenas Dance Company
• Duniya Dance and Drum Company