Red Reels Presents: La Salsa Cubana

La Salsa Cubana: Film Screening, Q&A, Dance Lesson & Dance Party

The Red Poppy’s interdisciplinary film series, Red Reels, presents a screening of the exuberant dance documentary, La Salsa Cubana. The evening will also include a Q&A with the film’s Director Eric Joseph Johnson, a dance lesson taught by Sidney Weaverling and Ryan Mead of ODC Dance, followed by a salsa dance party!

Step into a world filled with vibrant dancing, fascinating relationships, terrific music, and sumptuous Cuban imagery shot on location in Havana. With a soundtrack that features music from some of Cuba’s all-time greatest musical legends, licensed from the state-run music company catalogs of EGREM and BIS Music, this film is an insider’s look into the contemporary salsa dance scene in Havana rarely seen outside of Cuba. La Salsa Cubana is the first feature film to explore and explain Cuba’s de facto national dance, known as “casino” or Cuban salsa, since it appeared in Havana social clubs during the 1950s.

In 2003, Director Eric Joseph Johnson quit his corporate job to study dance and live in Cuba. Director Sarita Streng initiated the film project and the filmmakers obtained a rare license from the US Department of Treasury as well as journalistic visas from the Cuban government allowing a crew to travel to Cuba to make the film. The filmmakers have spent extensive time in Cuba cultivating connections and building the inside knowledge of Cuban culture that made this film possible.

Sidney Weaverling has been teaching Cuban dance since 1996, and Ryan Mead began teaching in 2005. In 2007 they created Rueda Con Ritmo, a dance school and performing group dedicated to spreading the joy of Cuban dance and music. To date they have taught and performed across the United States, and internationally in Cuba, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. Learn more about them at RuedaConRitmo.com catch their classes on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons at the ODC Dance Commons in the Mission on Shotwell Street, and Monday evenings at In The Groove on Grand Avenue in Oakland.

Red Reels films highlight the work of local and emerging filmmakers and expose audiences to diverse global traditions. Screenings explore a unique interdisciplinary approach by incorporating real-time collaborations with artists from varying mediums like dance, painting, and live music.

Join the La Salsa Cubana community on Facebook here

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00 Show at 7:30.

Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.