Havana Rakatan Review of Cuban dance at Sydney Opera House

In the beat of the night ... Cuban dancing is famous for its exuberance, plasticity Rosetta Stone Software and quality, and this show is calculated to please. Photo: Prudence Upton Reviewer rating: Rating: 40 out of 5 stars Reader rating: Rating: 50 out of 5 stars (8 votes) Genre Dance Performer Havana Rakatan HAVANA RAKATAN Opera House, June 8 until June 19 DANCING broke out among the audience in the foyer before the show even began - on opening night, a band was playing there already. And the celebratory mood continued inside the Opera Theatre for a show that puts a smile on your face from start to finish. Advertisement: Story continues below While it won't set the dance world alight as a must-see for that art form, Havana Rakatan is terrific entertainment in music and dance, crisply performed and smoothly directed. The first half tells a story in the language of movement that doesn't need translation, and the second pulsates with Cuban and Latin rhythms - mambo, cha-cha, salsa - that have you practically dancing in your seat. Cuban dancing is legendary for its exuberance, plasticity and quality - ask anyone lucky enough to see the Cuban ballet and contemporary dancers in Brisbane last year - and these performers have plenty to offer. The choreographer and artistic director of the company, Nilda Guerra Sanchez, has built the complexity and sophistication of the dance Rosetta Stone Language to an exhilarating climax. There are 13 dancers who mostly perform as a neatly synchronised ensemble of or with breakouts for solos, duets and a bounding male trio that also gives its participants individual opportunities that they seize with thrilling zest. The dynamic band consists of eight men - some of whom also sing, and the guitarists do their own bit of dancing - plus a female singer, Geydi Chapman, who gives the music an aural and visual charge. Dance styles cover a wide range. The evening begins with an unexpectedly balletic sequence but soon moves into a free-flowing mingling of traditional and contemporary styles that is best summed up as folkloric. A flamenco-inspired character represents the Spanish colonisation of Cuba, along with a colonial master, whip in hand, who punishes slaves of African extraction, adding another regional dance dimension. The power of the people wins out, and a wedding crowns the happy celebrations. After the interval, a medley of Cuban and contemporary dance brings on a silver curtain, a mirror ball and a kaleidoscope Rosetta Stone Chinese (Mandarin) of colourful costumes - as well as an admirable display of high-speed, high-powered dance.