Lorna Burdsall (1928 - 2010) was an American dancer and choreographer who was a founding member and director of the ''

Danza Contemporanea de Cuba Danza Contemporanea de Cuba (Contemporary Dance of Cuba) is a contemporary dance company based in Havana, Cuba, combining modern American theatre, Afro-Caribbean dance styles and classical European Ballet. History The company was founded in 1959 a ...

''. From 1955 to 1975, she was married to Cuban intelligence official

Manuel Piñeiro Manuel Piñeiro Losada (14 March 1933 - 11 March 1998), also known as Commander Barbarroja (''es: "red beard"'') was a Cuban political and military figure, a leader of the Cuban Revolution, and, between 1961 and 1964, the first head of the Direcc ...

. Following her divorce from Piñeiro, Burdsall became the National Director of Dance and Modern Dance in Cuba, and was an advisor on modern dance to Cuba's Minister of Culture.

Biography

Lorna Burdsall was born in 1928, in Preston, Connecticut. She was interested in dance as a child, and as a young adult she studied at the American Dance Festival in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, training with dancers such as

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

and

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

, whom she drew influence from later in life. After attaining a master's degree in psychology but being unable to find work in the field, Burdsall began teaching dance at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

in Virginia. This was short lived, however, and she quit after being unable to take her students to perform at a Black high school. In 1953, while studying dance at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Burdsall met

, the son of a Cuban alcohol distributor who was studying business administration at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She married Piñeiro in 1955, one year after graduating from Juilliard.

Marriage to Manuel Piñeiro

After marrying Piñiero in 1955, Burdsall moved with him to Cuba. At first, she was not fully aware of his involvement with the Cuban Revolution, but eventually she began to help her husband and his fellow revolutionaries. While pregnant with their child, she hid guns and ammunition in their Havana apartment, most of which were sent to arm guerrillas training with her husband in the

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it a ...

mountains. After the Revolution, her husband was appointed the deputy Minister of the Interior of Cuba, then helmed a top intelligence position within the country. Burdsall divorced Manuel Piñeiro in 1975.

Career

Burdsall was a founding member of the '' Conjunto Nacional de Danza Moderna'', now the ''Danza Contemporanea de Cuba''. Burdsall blended Afro-Cuban elements with North American and European modern dance training. She performed there for 15 years, later becoming director of the company. In 1977, Burdsall became the National Director of Dance and Modern Dance, and was an advisor on modern dance to Cuba's Minister of Culture. After leaving the ''Danza Contemporanea de Cuba'', Burdsall founded ''Así Somos'', an experimental modern dance company based in

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. The company performed out of her own apartment in Havana, where she had taken down walls to make more space for the dancers. Lorna Burdsall died in Havana, in 2010.

Awards and honors

* Award for Distinction for Natural Culture of Cuba (1982) * Medal for 25 Years of Artistic Movement (1985) * Cuban National Dance Prize (2008)

Legacy

Since Burdsall's death in 2010, the Performing Arts branch of the Union of Writers and Artists in Cuba (UNEAC) has awarded the ''Premio de Danza Lorna Burdsall'', a yearly award which recognizes lifetime achievement in dance. It is the highest honor that the UNEAC awards.

References

Cuban dancers {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdsall, Lorna 1928 births 2010 deaths American emigrants to Cuba Juilliard School alumni American dancers