Santiago Alfonso: Dance is the fulfillment of my dreams

April 30, 2020

-What does dance mean to Santiago Alfonso?

Dance is the fulfillment of my dreams. I remember in the second half of the 50s of the last century when I watched Musical Spectacles on TV, Theaters or Cabarets in which I could not participate because I didn't have the required quality or for the most painful reason: being black. They only used us in stagings that had Afro-Cuban themes, and in the majority of those participations our roles were as slaves.

-Why choose show dance among so many other manifestations?

As I said before, my beginnings are totally linked to this manifestation. In Cuba there were no Dance Companies in which we could dream, there was only the Ballet Alicia Alonso, which was sustained by the personal struggle of Alicia, Fernando and Alberto Alonso, supported by Doña Laura Rainieri from the Patronato del Teatro Auditorium.

I could not reach that level. In reality, I never felt inclined to be a ballet dancer. I admired very much my friends who performed in that discipline, but I didn't feel capable of becoming a dancer beyond Cuban spectacles.

My greatest ambition was to be able to study Modern Dance. I had heard about Ramiro Guerra, but I didn't know how to reach him. I had seen photos of Katherin Dunham and her Company that was based in New York, but that idea was unattainable.

I had the hope of being like Alexander Cunning, a black dancer who had been a star alongside Marta Castillo at the Tropicana in the 40s-50s. My idols were Sonia Calero, Elena del Cueto, Roberto Rodríguez, Tomás Morales, Miguelito Chequis and Marta Castillo, Gladys and Freddy, Arnaldo Silva, Christy Domínguez.

To tell the truth, the Cuban dancer and choreographer who influenced me the most was Arnaldo Silva, because his aesthetic line and his language were very close to the conception of American Plays, and when I saw West Side Story, my life changed.

-What does it mean for Santiago Alfonso to be a National Dance Prize winner?

It represents an immense honor to know that the work done for more than 40 years had been recognized, but, beyond the personal, it is the recognition of so many creators who before me made of that manifestation in Cuba one of the most famous artistic works in the entire world.

To Héctor del Villar, who was the first Artistic Director of the original Tropicana, to Roderico Neyra, Alberto Alonso, Luis Trápaga, Tomás Morales, Joaquin "Riviera" Castellanos, Joaquin Condall, Rafael Hernández, Ändres Gutíerrez, Rafael Alfonso, Amaury Pérez (who was the pioneer in the first years of the Revolution in breaking the racial barrier in his Spectacle at the Casino Parisién of the Hotel Nacional by using a body of all black models).

In the Cabaret Spectacles, the most important figures from the artistic spectrum of Cuba and the entire world performed. There you could see Rita Montaner, Beny Moré, Bola de Nieve, Celia Cruz, Olga Guillot, Paulina Álvarez, Rosa Fornés, Álvarez Mera, the Cuarteto D´Aida, the Cuarteto de Facundo Rivero, Celeste Mendoza, Xiomara Alfaro and many others, and from the international world Edith Piaf, Nat Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Johny Mathis, Eartha Kidd, Cármen Miranda and Tony Bennett, not forgetting that the orchestras of those venues were directed by names like Armando Romeu, Adolfo Guzman, Rafael Somavilla.

On the music stands you could see musicians of the caliber of Bebo Valdés, Papito Hernández, Wilfredo Reyes, Guillermo Barreto, the Hermanos Cachao, Táta Guines, Ricardo, Luis and Alfredo, who after the triumph of the Revolution would create the Group Los Papines that brought so much glory internationally to our country.

Until the triumph of the Revolution, I was just one more in the crowd. Simply, I had nothing in sight that promised me a better future. That night of December 31st, when I finished work, I went home without knowing that something had happened that would change not only my life, but also that of all the black dancers in Cuba.

None of us were conscious of what this social phenomenon would bring us. Four months later, in April, they announced that the National Theater under the direction of Dr. Isabel Monal (already in La Plaza Cívica and that would later become La Plaza de La Revolución), created shortly before by the Revolution, would hold auditions to create the Dance Department, under the direction of Ramiro Guerra.

I presented myself to auditions like hundreds of young people. Ramiro Guerra was a tyrant, there was no rest, we worked from 8:30 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, beginning with dance classes.

The rest of the day was used to stage the first works: Mulato y Mambí, La Vida de las Abejas and Estudio de Las Aguas. With these pieces, the first program was formed with which El Conjunto Nacional de Danza (today Danza Contemporanea) would be born.

Subsequently, folk singers and percussionists were incorporated to teach us this discipline that belonged to the Folklore Department directed by Argerliers León and María Teresa Linares (two apostles of Cubanness).

-How do you evaluate the show dance that is done in Cuba?

Any artistic manifestation is subject to the economic conditions of our country and spectacle is no exception. Like opera, these are very costly manifestations, as their production demands enormous investments in the purchase of materials to make costumes, design and tailoring, set design, music, orchestrations, footwear, teachers and scenic, technical and production staff.

This economically, and also the work of training the artists involved influences it, since a dancer in our discipline must have knowledge of dance, ballet, folklore, popular dances and even international dances, because all these disciplines converge.

The same happens with vocalists, they must be prepared to interpret with equal ease, son, bolero, rumba, danzón and everything that appears in the musical world. They must be able to dance or at least have a sense of rhythm. All this implies dedication and commitment, but also expenses.

We cannot overlook the fact that this discipline has been for many years the neglected one of the Performing Arts for being considered minor and superficial art.

With the creation of Art Schools, our graduates were placed at a much higher level than scenic demands, but for the most part they do not cover the full range of requirements of this discipline since most graduate in only one.

On the other hand, they don't feel attracted to spectacle.

We all need someone to guide us, it is decisive to go through each stage, this fills us with knowledge, good and bad experiences that in the end enrich our training.

Today many dancers leave school and in little time they are already choreographers and/or Group Directors, what time did they have to train themselves? I don't deny that there are exceptional talents that amaze us with their creations, but even these should have guidance, because an own language that identifies us is not achieved in a year. In my humble way of seeing it, that is where the difficulties lie that we face in the world of spectacle.

-What message would you like to send to young people who want to make a career in this scenario?

Above all, discipline, perseverance and respect. They must listen to their teachers, rehearsal directors, choreographers and everyone who directs them. Always remember that the dancer needs to be directed, without teachers we don't advance, we can't believe that we can do it alone.

Sometimes, or almost always, we get tired of doing the same thing every day and we think the teacher is going too slow and is holding us back, on the contrary, going slowly today gives us the security of tomorrow. Overconfidence is our greatest enemy and dancers when they begin think they know it all; a gross error.

It is that attitude that hurts us the most. Perseverance is very important, we must insist on what doesn't come out right, that repetition every day of the same exercises leads us to perfection.

-If dance didn't exist, what would Santiago Alfonso be?

If I hadn't dedicated myself to Dance, I could have been an athlete. In my childhood and adolescence I practiced track and field (short distance), boxing, weightlifting, volleyball, four corners and baseball. In the latter I became part of the national pre-selection in 1957, but I had to choose between baseball and dance. I decided to dance because I was working at Montmartre and had the possibility of traveling to Venezuela. In that gesture, without knowing it, I found my future.