Malpaso Dance Company Artist Bios

MALPASO DANCE COMPANY, since its establishment in 2012, has become a much-sought-after Cuban dance company with a growing international profile. Emphasizing a collaborative creative process, Malpaso is committed to working with top international choreographers while also nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. The company tours with 12 dancers and is led by its original three founders: resident choreographer and Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, Executive Director Fernando Sáez, and Associate Artistic Director and cofounder Daileidys Carrazana. An Associate Company of Joyce Theater Productions, Malpaso—together with The Joyce Theater—has commissioned original works from a number of prominent international choreographers, including Ronald K. Brown (Why You Follow), Trey McIntyre (Under Fire), Aszure Barton (Indomitable Waltz; Stillness in Bloom), Robyn Mineko Williams (Elemental), and Tony and Emmy award winning Sonya Tayeh (Face the Torrent), and has licensed works by Mats Ek (woman with water), Ohad Naharin (Tabula Rasa), and Merce Cunningham (Fielding Sixes). For more information, please visit malpasodance.com

FERNANDO SÁEZ (Founder and Executive Director) graduated from the School of Performing Arts at the Superior Institute of Arts (ISA) in Havana in 1988. He is also a founder and actor of EstudioTeatral de Santa Clara; was the head of the sociocultural development project in Las Terrazas, Pinar del Rio, from 1993 to 1997; and has served on the staff of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba since 1998. He is also a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.  

DAILEIDYS CARRAZANA (Founder, Associate Artistic Director, Dancer, and Choreographer, Lullaby for Insomnia) graduated from the National Ballet School in Havana in 2003. She was a member of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso with Osnel Delgado. Carrazana has worked with choreographers such as Mats Ek, Jan Linkens, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz and Isidro Rolando, among others.

OSNEL DELGADO (Founder, Artistic Director, and Dancer) danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso. He has worked with choreographers Mats Ek, Rafael Bonachela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ja Linkens, Itzik Galili, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz, Isidro Rolando, and George Cespedes, among others. Delgado has created works for DCC, Rakatan, and Ebony Dance of Cuba. Delgado is a 2003 graduate of the National Dance School of Havana, where he is also a professor of dance studies. 

DUNIA ACOSTA (Dancer) graduated from the Regional Dance School Manuel Muñoz Cedeño in Bayamo in 2009. She was a member of Danza Libre de Guantánamo from 2010 to 2013, before joining Malpaso. 

ESTEBAN AGUILAR (Dancer), before joining Malpaso in February 2016, studied dance at Superior Institute of Arts's Faculty of Dance and was a member of Danza Fragmentada Company (2002 to 2014). He has worked with choreographers like Aszure Barton and Osnel Delgado. 

OSVALDO CARDERO (Dancer) graduated in 2017 from the Professional School of Art in Guantánamo City. He was a member of CoDanza Dance Company from 2017 to 2019. He joined Malpaso in 2020. 

LEONARDO DOMINGUEZ (Dancer) graduated in 2016 from the Professional Arts School Regino Boti in Guantánamo. He was a member of CoDanza Dance Company from 2016 to 2018 and worked as a dance teacher at the Elementary Dance School Raúl Gómez García in Holguín from 2017 to 2018. He joined Malpaso in 2018. 

BEATRIZ GARCIA (Dancer) is a graduate of the Superior Institute of Arts (2016) and the National Ballet School in Havana (2008). She was a member of Danza Teatro Retazos until 2014. She has worked with choreographers such as Isabel Bustos, Miguel Azcue, Irene Kalbusch, Pepe Hevia, Trey McIntyre, Aszure Barton, Sonya Tayeh, Robyn Mineko Williams, Ronald K. Brown, and Ohad Naharin, among others. She joined Malpaso in 2014.  

ARMANDO GOMEZ (Dancer) graduated as a ballet dancer and teacher from the Arts Academy Vicentina de la Torre in 2013. He was a member of Endedans Contemporary Ballet from 2013 to 2016 and Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba from 2016 to 2017. He joined Malpaso Dance Company in 2017. 

LEYNA GONZALEZ (Dancer) graduated from the National School of Arts in 2016. She was a dancer with Danza Contemporánea de Cuba from 2012 to 2020. She joined Malpaso in 2021. She has worked with choreographers such as Anabel Lopez Ochoa, Billy Cowie, and Theo Clinkard, among others. 

HERIBERTO MENESES (Dancer) graduated from the Vocational Art School Alfonso Pérez Isaac in his home region Matanzas in 2012 and the National Dance School in Havana. He joined Danza Contemporánea de Cuba in 2016. He has worked with choreographers such as Ángels Margarit, Anabel López Ochoa, Billy Cowie, and Miguel Altunaga, among many others. He joined Malpaso in 2020.  

DANIELA MIRALLES (Dancer) graduated in 2018 from the National School of Arts in Havana as a dancer and dance teacher. She joined Malpaso Dance Company in June 2017. 

ILIANA SOLIS (Dancer) is a dancer and dance teacher who graduated from Raul Gomez García Art School in Holguín, Cuba. She was a member of Codanza Dance Company from 2006 to 2013. From 2006 to 2008 she also worked as a professor at José Martí Pérez Arts Instructors School. She joined Danza Contemporánea de Cuba in 2015. She became a member of Malpaso Dance Company in 2019. Solis has worked with choreographers such as Theo Clinkard, Billy Cowie, Lea Anderson, Fleur Darken, and Anabel López Ochoa, among others.  

DAILYS BACALLAO (Ballet Master) graduated from the National Ballet School in 2007 and the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana as a ballet teacher in 2015. She was a dancer of Matanza's city contemporary dance company Danza Espiral from 2008 to 2014. She was a professor at the National Ballet School and is currently a teacher at the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana. 

ASZURE BARTON (Choreographer, Indomitable Waltz) is an artist and choreographer who has collaborated with celebrated dancers and companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Misty Copeland, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, English National Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, and Teatro alla Scala, among many others. She is a Bessie honoree and has received numerous honors including the prestigious Arts and Letters Award, joining the ranks of Oscar Peterson, Karen Kain, and Margaret Atwood. She was the first Martha Duffy resident artist at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and is an official ambassador of contemporary dance in Canada. She is the founder of Aszure Barton and Artists, an interdisciplinary international dance project. 

ROBYN MINEKO WILLIAMS (Choreographer, Elemental) danced for River North Dance Chicago and was a member of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for 12 seasons. She began making her own work via Hubbard Street’s Inside/Out Choreographic Workshop and has since created multiple premieres for Hubbard Street, including The Art of Falling with Second City and two full-length works for children, Harold and the Purple Crayon and Mariko’s Magical Mix. She has been commissioned by Pacific Northwest Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, and others and has had her work presented at venues such as The Kennedy Center, The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Festival, and MCA Chicago. She was one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2014 and is a four-time Princess Grace Foundation–USA grant recipient. In 2016, Williams was selected as Chicago’s Best Choreographer. She was named one of Newcity’s Players: 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago in 2016 and 2018. Her site-sensitive performance series, Undercover Episodes, currently tours the United States. For more information, visit robynminekowilliams.com.  

STEVEN CARLINO (Production and Company Manager) is an artist, writer, and performer who assists other artists in producing their own work. In New York City, he worked with the late Magnificent Fred Ho and the Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, collaborated with the experimental theater collective Mabou Mines, and for ten years toured as the Production Manager for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. He has worked with many other notable projects and artists around the world, including Aszure Barton and Artists, Brian Brooks, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Carlino is currently the Tour and Production Manager for both Aszure Barton’s Where There’s Form and for Malpaso Dance Company’s international tours. He has worked with Malpaso Dance Company since 2015. 

DIANA ROSA HERNANDEZ (Stage Manager) graduated from the National School of Arts with a degree in acting in 2008. She is a member of Teatro Espontáneo de La Habana and Mefisto Teatro. Hernandez worked in the HavanaBama collaboration between the University of Alabama and Cuba. She joined Malpaso in 2014. 

MANUEL DA SILVA (Lighting Supervisor) was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in South Florida, where he developed a passion for theater and the arts at a young age. Da Silva attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he received his BFA in lighting design and technology. Now a lighting designer based in New York City, Da Silva has worked with several Off-Broadway theatre companies and in fact designed the world premiere of La Tía Julia y el Escribidor at El Repertorio Español. Da Silva has also displayed his work at the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review and the National Design Showcase East.  

JOYCE THEATER PRODUCTIONS (JTP) is the in-house producing entity for The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., formed to create original work for The Joyce’s stage and for worldwide touring. The initiative provides dance artists who have little or no formal management or infrastructure the means to create productions of the highest standards of excellence. The program also includes the Associate Company model, offering sustained producing, fiscal, or administrative management to companies that may require short- or longer-term support. Originally founded in partnership with Sunny Artist Management, Inc. (SAM), in 2014, JTP has since supported projects with Daniil Simkin, Wendy Whelan/Brian Brooks, Arthur Pita/James Whiteside, Maria Kochetkova, Caleb Teicher, Alexei Ratmansky, Molissa Fenley, and L.A. Dance Project and maintains an ongoing relationship with Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company.  

For booking information, please contact Barbara Frum:  [email protected]  

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