In the Community
SOCIALS · FAMILIES · NEIGHBORHOODS
Music, Movement and Community
Join DC Casineros through Cuban dance socials, family lessons, neighborhood gatherings and programs that bring people together. Our community work creates opportunities to share music, learn with one another and stay connected across generations.
Explore Local Work: our performances, classes and collaborations across D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Social Events
Dance with us throughout the year through Cuban Dance Socials, workshops and community gatherings.
Upcoming Cuban Dance Socials
- October 30, 2026: Halloween social with Rachel Ortiz · Cafritz Foundation Theater at Dance Place · 7 p.m.–12:30 a.m.
- Saturday, December 12, 2026: Cuban Dance Social · Dance Place Theater · 7 p.m. More details will be confirmed soon.
- February 5, 2027: DC Cuban Social · Cafritz Foundation Theater at Dance Place · 7 p.m.–12:30 a.m.
Our spring theater performance takes place in April 30, 2027. See the current Dance Place listing.
Social Dates & Tickets All Events
Listen to Our Music
Bring the music into your own practice. Explore DC Casineros’ selected playlist, then join us at a class or social.
Open the full playlist in Spotify · Explore Cuban dance and music history
Children and Families
Our work at Glen Echo Park includes Cuban dance lessons for children and parents alongside beginner and experienced adult dancers. Naomi Washington-Roque and Amanda Gill teach children and families at Glen Echo. Our wider youth and family team also includes Adrian Valdivia, William Sánchez and Paul Cassens, and DC Casineros also offers children’s activities through community partners, including Dance Place.
The next Glen Echo Park matinée is October 24, 2026, 2–5 p.m. View the family lesson schedule and get tickets. Learn about our children’s and family programs.
Explore our Youth & Family Programs, meet Adrian Valdivia, Naomi Washington-Roque, Amanda Gill, William Sánchez and Paul Cassens, and discover our 2005–2026 history of youth and family engagement.
Explore more of our community work below:
Cuban Dance Socials — Current Dates & Tickets
DJ Azúcar · Music and Community
A longtime collaborator, DJ Azúcar connects the Havana Village story with today’s Cuban Night gatherings, where DC Casineros currently teaches Casino and Rueda de Casino.
Meet DJ Azúcar and explore our work together · Explore The Music We Love
Children and Families at the Kennedy Center
Our Artes de Cuba story includes a children’s workshop with Adrian, Amanda and Naomi on May 12, 2018, followed by a separate public lesson and performance the next day. At the REACH opening in 2019, our interactive teaching connected Son, Casino and Rumba with young people and the wider audience.
Community on the Dance Floor
Our Cuban Dance Socials bring people together through music, movement and shared celebrations. These photographs show our December 2025 Cuban Dance Social.
Explore more social photographs and videos · Find our upcoming gatherings
Cuban Dance Socials at Glen Echo Park
Meet us on the dance floor at Glen Echo Park. Our recurring Cuban dance socials bring together students, company dancers, families and friends from across the D.C. region for music, learning and shared dancing. We hold these gatherings several times a year; each event listing has its own lesson schedule, times and tickets.
Explore our Cuban dance socials · See upcoming events · Youth and family dance
Festivals, Stages and Neighborhood Gatherings
DanceAfrica DC: Evan and Naomi on Stage
From Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant to the Kennedy Center and the Howard Theatre, our local work brings Cuban dance into public life. Watch DC Casineros opening for Los Van Van at the Howard Theatre, or explore the company’s full performance history.
Since 2005, DC Casineros has donated hundreds of hours to performing in various communities in DC. Our Rueda de Casino shows excite audiences and our interactive workshops get people moving synchronously and joyfully together. We also share the history of popular Cuban dance and music. Some of our past community work includes:
- Cherry Blossom Festival 2013
- Adams Morgan Day 2005-2012
- Mt Pleasant Day 2005-2011
- Get Fresh Health Festival 2006-2007
- African Liberation Day at the Carlos Rosario School, 2008
- Cinco de Mayo Festival 2006 and 2008
- Columbia Heights Neighborhood Festival 2011
Young People Taking Part
Our community work includes opportunities for children to move, listen and join in. Explore Youth & Family Programs.
School and University Performances
DC Casineros has performed at over 15 schools in the DC Metropolitan area, along with leading lecture demonstrations on the history of Cuban music and dance. Past school performances include: The George Washington University, Georgetown University, University of DC, Sandy Spring Friends School, Woodrow Wilson High School, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School, and Bell Multicultural High School.
From Our Archives
Explore earlier chapters in DC Casineros’ community work and cultural exchange.
- Art on 8th — outdoor Cuban dance gatherings with Dance Place and the Brookland Arts Walk.
- Cuba 2018 Cultural Exchange — a look back at a completed company trip.
Travel, Collaboration and Celebration
These archived invitations bring together earlier chapters in our story: traveling to Cuba with All Stars, collaborating in Washington, D.C., and celebrating ten years of DC Casineros in 2015.
Cuba travel · Collaboration Part II
Washington collaboration · Part III
Ten years of DC Casineros · 2015
Explore our All Stars relationship · Find current events and invitations
If you are interested in having DC Casineros perform at your event or venue, please visit our Hire Us page.
Cuban Popular & Social Dance History Lectures
History becomes something you can hear, see and experience. Adrian Valdivia and the company connect researched storytelling, musical examples, video and live movement through lectures and demonstrations for youth, high schools, colleges, corporations and government agencies.
At DanceAfrica DC 2026, our lecture-demonstrations at the Arts Park on June 6 shared Cuban dance history through movement and conversation. Explore the topics and formats, and tell us about the audience you want to reach.
Explore our lectures and demonstrations · Plan an educational program.
Movement, Connection and Team Building
Rueda de Casino brings people into a shared circle, asking them to listen, communicate and respond to one another. That social experience has long been part of Amanda Gill’s work as a dancer and educator and informed her graduate study in dance/movement therapy.
For schools, community groups and workplaces, we can plan a participatory Cuban dance experience around shared rhythm, partner communication and group learning. Contact us to discuss the audience, format and teaching artists for your program.
Meet Amanda · Cultural learning for your organization · Request a group program.