Adrian Valdivia

Adrian Valdivia is the Director and Artistic Director of DC Casineros Dance Company, as well as a choreographer, principal dancer and instructor. A co-founder in 2005, he has devoted approximately 21 years to the company’s artistic development, teaching, performance and cultural exchange. His work connects Son, Casino, Rueda de Casino, rumba and other Cuban popular dances with the communities that sustain them.

Artistic Leadership and Cultural Exchange

Adrian brings the stage, the classroom and the social dance floor into a shared artistic practice. His direction emphasizes musicality, movement quality, improvisation and an understanding of Cuban dance history. At Dance Place, the company’s creative home, this work takes shape through classes, rehearsals, original productions, visiting artists and community dance socials.

Longstanding relationships with artists in Santiago de Cuba, including Compañía All Stars and Folklórico Cutumba, have helped shape the company’s repertory and teaching. Collaborations such as Somos Cubanos and the multimedia production Bailando con Juan Formell y Los Van Van bring performance into conversation with the people and histories behind Cuban music. Adrian’s vision is to make that cultural knowledge part of how dancers learn, create and share the work across generations.

He won first place in the couples’ competition at the 2009 Miami Rueda Congress. His teaching and performance history includes the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, and congresses in Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Nicaragua. He has also worked and taught in Mexico, Sweden, Spain, and Canada.

Born in Venezuela into a family of dancers and musicians, Adrian brings a strong connection to Caribbean music and community life to his work. His training has included Duane Wrenn, Kati Hernandez, Yudisleidy Valdes, Jorge Luna Roque, Yoel Marrero, Oscar Rousseaux, and Aramis Pazos. He teaches from beginning through advanced levels, emphasizing the musical relationship between Son, Casino, rumba, and Orisha dance traditions.

MTV 3 Latino featured Adrian and Amanda Gill discussing Casino in Washington, DC. He also helped bring the All Stars Dance Company from Santiago de Cuba to Washington for a collaborative production with DC Casineros.

With Amanda in Vancouver

Selected Teaching, Performance, and Cultural Exchange

• Participated with Amanda Gill and Patricia Rivera on the Cubamemucho festival staff in Europe in 2009.
• Featured with Amanda Gill in the 2012 Capital Congress instructor program and the Ritmos Latinos Indiana Workshop & Fiesta on April 9, 2016.
• His international congress experience also includes Sweden.
• Co-directed CubaSon in Mexico with Ramsés Sariol, helped organize CubaSon in New Orleans, and participated in its edition in Spain.
• Featured in Son y Casino’s 2024 interview, “Casino, Commitment, and Community”, discussing dance education, cultural responsibility, and the company’s development.

Adrian’s youth work includes serving as Youth Development Program Director and Violence Prevention Coordinator with MCIP at Columbia Heights Educational Campus. He connects dance instruction with mentorship and opportunities for young people to build community. Explore our youth and family programs.