21 Years of Cuban Dance

Founded in 2005, DC Casineros is a Washington, D.C.–based dance company and nonprofit performing arts organization dedicated to building healthy, diverse and socially connected communities through the art and culture of Cuban dance. Emerging from a circle of Cuban-dance enthusiasts at the Havana Village nightclub, the company was founded by Amanda Gill, with Adrian Valdivia as co-founder and longtime artistic collaborator. Gill is the company’s founding and former Artistic Director and continues to contribute as an instructor. Today, Valdivia serves as Artistic Director. DC Casineros marked its 20th anniversary in July 2025 and now celebrates 21 years of connecting generations of dancers, musicians and audiences through performance, education and cultural exchange.

DC Casineros’ artistic vocabulary encompasses Casino, Rueda de Casino, Son Cubano, Danzón, Cha Cha Chá, Mambo, Rumba, Comparsa and Conga, alongside elements of Afro-Cuban dance and contemporary Cuban movement and music. Its choreography and teaching place particular emphasis on musicality, technique, movement quality, historical understanding, improvisation, and the social relationships at theheart of Cuban dance. The company’s repertoire draws on both Cuba’s rich dance heritage and the changing sounds of its popular music.

Since approximately 2006, Dance Place in Northeast Washington has been a creative home for the company. Its longstanding resident-company relationship encompasses weekly classes, rehearsals, Cuban dance socials, original productions, guest-artist residencies, educational programming and appearances at DanceAfrica. Its mission reaches beyond the stage through interactive family and youth programs, outreach in local neighborhoods, school performances, lecture-demonstrations and artist mentorship.

Among its major institutional credits are the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Wolf Trap, Smithsonian institutions, Strathmore, Arena Stage, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress. The company has also participated in university and community programs throughout the Washington metropolitan area and at festivals and congresses across the United States. Its own early community-performance archive includes the Cherry Blossom Festival, Adams Morgan Day, Mount Pleasant Day, Art on 8th and many other neighborhood celebrations.

At the Kennedy Center, DC Casineros presented Cuban popular and social dance during the 2018 Artes de Cuba festival, returned for the 2019 REACH/Millennium Stage opening celebrations, and has contributed to the institution’s Dance Sanctuaries educational programming. Its 2018 original Dance Place production, Bailando con Juan Formell y Los Van Van, combined choreography, research, narration and documentary interviews to explore five decades of Cuban music and social history. The company has opened performances for Los Van Van and Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club and has presented preconcert programming for Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars at Strathmore.

Other distinctive engagements reflect the company’s range. DC Casineros made its Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods debut in 2017 with The History of Cuban Popular Dance and participated in Arena Stage programming in 2015 and 2019. In July 2024, the company offered Cuban dance demonstrations and lessons for Folger Fridays at the Folger Shakespeare Library ahead of a concert by Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros. On December 12, 2024, it closed the Library of Congress celebration honoring Cuban-American author Meg Medina at the conclusion of her tenure as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. In April 2025, the company guest-performed at Cornell University’s Primavera Pa’lante showcase.

The company has performed and taught internationally in Cuba, Sweden, Nicaragua, Benin in West Africa and Spain. Its international history includes the Stockholm Cuban Dance Festival, dance congresses in Nicaragua and Benin, and artistic exchange with performers in Santiago de Cuba. Particularly important are its longstanding relationships with All Stars Santiago de Cuba and Folklórico Cutumba. DC Casineros hosted All Stars artists in a 2017 Dance Place residency and collaborative production, and in 2025 joined an international collaboration at CubaSon Congress in Mallorca honoring Juan Formell and Los Van Van.

Across more than two decades, the company’s larger contribution has been to connect professional artistry with everyday social dance: creating a place where people can learn, perform, study Cuban music and history, build friendships, and encounter visiting Cuban artists. Its guiding mission remains to build healthy communities through the art and culture of Cuban dance.

Selected performance and program record

Foundations and community engagement

• 2005–2006 — Havana Village and Dance Place. DC Casineros formed in the Havana Village community and established its ongoing teaching relationship with Dance Place around 2006.
• 2005–2013 — District-wide community work. Its own historical archive documents participation at Adams Morgan Day, Mount Pleasant Day, the 2013 Cherry Blossom Festival, Columbia Heights events, Art on 8th and numerous school and neighborhood celebrations.
• 2015 — Arena Stage. Hosted a dance event following a performance of the play Destiny of Desire; historical company records also document regional performances, festivals and community teaching.
• July 25, 2017 — Wolf Trap. Presented The History of Cuban Popular Dance at Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods.
• September–October 2017 — All Stars Santiago de Cuba residency. Presented guest artists Yuneidi Bejerano and Yurisnel Catellanos in classes and an original collaborative Dance Place production, supported by a broader week of Washington-area programs.
• May 13, 2018 — Kennedy Center Artes de Cuba. Produced a broad presentation spanning Son, Casino, Rueda, Rumba, Mambo and other Cuban dance forms in the Kennedy Center’s major Cuba arts festival.
• November 3–4, 2018 — Dance Place. Premiered the evening-length multimedia production Bailando con Juan Formell y Los Van Van, with historical research and original choreography.
• August 24, 2019 — Arena Stage. Presented classes and performance as part of Arena Stage’s 70th-anniversary Community Day.
• September 18, 2019 — Kennedy Center. Participated in the REACH/Millennium Stage opening celebrations with performance and interactive instruction.
• January 31, 2020 — Strathmore. Provided preconcert dance instruction and presentation associated with Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars.
• 2022 and subsequent seasons — Kennedy Center Dance Sanctuaries. Contributed teaching and artist engagement to programming celebrating Latinx social dance traditions.

Recent cultural institutions, universities and international work

• July 26, 2024 — Folger Shakespeare Library. Cuban dance demonstrations and lessons at its Folger Fridays Cuban Dance and Music Night, ahead of Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros.
• September 22, 2024 — National Gallery of Art. The company’s internal casting archive records a Cuban-charanga social-dance appearance connected with Ceylon Mitchell’s Raíces Negras concert.
• December 12, 2024 — Library of Congress. Performed the Cuban-dance finale for the closing celebration honoring Cuban-American author Meg Medina, the 2023–2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The Library’s official video documents the company’s contribution.
• April 26, 2025 — Cornell University. Guest appearance at Salsa Pa’lante’s Primavera Pa’lante: Bailando en el Barrio showcase.
• July 19–20, 2025 — 20th-anniversary celebration. Reunited dancers, artists, instructors and supporters through a Washington, D.C., anniversary social and Afro-Cuban dance programming.
• October 31–November 2, 2025 — Mallorca, Spain. CubaSon Congress teaching and international performance collaboration honoring the musical legacy of Juan Formell and Los Van Van.
• Ongoing — National and international dance communities. Historic company materials document teaching and performance at New York, Miami, San Francisco and Atlanta Rueda Congresses, along with Nicaragua, Sweden and Benin; later company records include New Orleans, Baltimore and other U.S. festivals.

CubaSon Congress and International Leadership

DC Casineros’ international history includes a sustained commitment to organizing Cuban dance congresses as well as teaching and performing. Artistic Director Adrian Valdivia served as co-director and co-producer of CubaSon Congress in Mexico alongside Ramsés Sariol. The company’s participation included the 2023 congress in Playa del Carmen, where DC Casineros artists contributed instruction and cultural exchange with dancers from across the world.

Valdivia also worked with Sariol to help organize CubaSon Congress in New Orleans in 2024, collaborating with the local hosts, Dile Que NOLA. This work extended the company’s contribution beyond the stage to the development of an international gathering centered on Cuban social dance, music, and cultural understanding. In 2025, DC Casineros participated in CubaSon Congress in Mallorca, Spain, contributing teaching, performance, and an international collaboration honoring Juan Formell and Los Van Van. Valdivia’s role in Spain was as a participating artist and collaborator.

The company has also returned to Baila New York for teaching, performances, and exchange with the wider dance community. This recurring participation, alongside its CubaSon work, reflects DC Casineros’ ongoing commitment to connecting Cuban dance communities across cities and countries.

Artistic, educational and cultural partnerships

The company’s broader educational work has included demonstrations and lectures on Cuban popular music and dance at universities and schools, including George Mason University, the George Washington University, Georgetown University, the University of the District of Columbia and Cornell University. Community teaching includes young people, adults, families and professional dancers. DC Casineros has also offered visiting-artist residencies, training opportunities and cultural exchanges, with particular attention to preserving the Cuban identity of Casino and Son while creating accessible spaces for participation.

The company’s own historical artist biographies also document presentations at Smithsonian institutions and an ongoing relationship with Strathmore, Glen Echo Park, DanceAfrica and schools throughout the region. Historical opening-act credits include Los Van Van and Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. Its collaboration with Cuban artists in Santiago de Cuba has influenced both its performance repertory and how it teaches across generations.

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