Gaia is an arts centre in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, set up on January 1, 2000 as a not-for-profit collaboration between Cuban and international artists.A cultural journey into the heart of Havana , Travel , The Observer
/ref>Amazon.com: Time Out Havana: And the Best of Cuba (Time Out Guides) (9781904978831): Time Out: Books
/ref> The centre offers theatre, music and dance performances, workshops, programs for children and the physically disadvantaged, and exhibitions of works by young artists. Gaia Teatro, the centre's resident theatre company, has produced some interesting works: ''Las cenizas de Ruth'' was director Esther Cardoso's radical reinterpretation of the biblical story of

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

. ''Los Reyes'' was a staging of Julio Cortázar's version of the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. And ''Reciclaje'' used recycled items for wardrobe to explore environmental themes. In collaboration with the British Council, Gaia staged a rehearsed reading of ''Cooking with Elvis'', by Lee Hall, directed by British director Sebastian Doggart, in the Teatro Nacional in 2000. Eight years later, on October 4, 2008, the show finally premiered, in the Sala Avellaneda at the Teatro Nacional. It was the first new British play performed in Cuba since ''An Inspector Calls'' opened in 1947. File:The Kings, Gaia.jpg, In the court of Minos -- ''The Kings'', Gaia File:The Kings, Gaia 2.jpg, Calling on the gods -- ''The Kings'', Gaia File:Cooking with Elvis.jpg, ''Cooking with Elvis'' rehearsed reading, Teatro Nacional, Havana, 2000 File:CenizasRuth.jpg, ''Las Cenizas de Ruth'' File:LaPielElisa.jpg, ''La Piel de Elisa'' File:Maskperformance2.jpg, Mask performance File:Maskperformance3.jpg, Mask performance File:"Cooking with Elvis" (rehearsal, 2007).jpg, Rehearsals for ''Cooking with Elvis'', 2007 Gaia Dance has collaborated with world-renowned Cuban ballerina Viengsay Valdes on a production of ''Balance of Ice'', a contemporary dance piece inspired by the sounds of ice sheets calving. The piece was directed by Sebastian Doggart, and featured music by Canadian composer

Andrew Staniland Andrew Staniland (born 1977) is a Canadian composer and guitarist. He is currently a professor of Composition and Electronic Music at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Biography Andrew Staniland was born in Red Deer, Alberta, in 1977. H ...

. which can be viewed on YouTube. On the last Saturday of every month, Gaia hosts a mask workshop for children in the morning, and, at 5pm, a unique theatrical event, called ''Felices Los Normales (Happy the Normal)''. Targeted at Cubans with HIV/AIDS – and the community surrounding them—the program is directed by inspirational activist Carlos Borbon. He and his group, Teatro Espontaneo, invite participants to come forward to tell an HIV-related story which is then enacted by a group of professional actors and musicians. The stories are moving and dramatic, and the atmosphere is electric. In December 2006,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

presented the company with an award for its efforts in combating HIV/AIDS. File:Felices1.jpg, ''Felices Los Normales'' performance at Gaia File:Felices2.jpg, Carlos Borbon raising HIV awareness at Gaia File:UNESCO.jpg, UNESCO award for ''Felices Los Normales'' File:Audience watching "Felices Los Normales".jpg, Audience watches ''Felices Los Normales'' Gaia also has a 'Casa de Mascara', teaching the techniques and traditions of masks to children and adults, and taking promenade performances into the streets of Old Havana. File:Gaia street performance, Havana.jpg, Street Performance in Old Havana File:Mascara2.jpg, Street performance in Old Havana File:Lesson Mascara3.jpg, Mask lesson File:Mascara4.jpg, Mask Performance Gaia has hosted numerous exhibitions of Cuban and international artists, including Leysis Quesada Vera, Angel Delgado, Catherine Bertola, Paul Rooney (artist) and US artist Scott Griesbach. In 2006, it put on an exhibition -- ''Kachita, Mango y el Jim''—startlingly documenting the havoc caused by two hurricanes that flooded the city in 2005. File:reyeswell.jpg, Installation piece for Los Reyes File:angeldelgado.jpg, Angel Delgado's handkerchief created while in jail File:Visuals5.jpg, Contemplation File:Visuals6.jpg, Fragmentos: international exhibition File:throne4.jpg, Minos' throne Gaia has staged performances by musicians such as Chucho Valdes, Tony Perez, Los Jovenes Clasicos del Son,

Sonora Matancera La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...

, Alicia Bustamante, Gaia Jazz, and Aris Garit. It offers percussion lessons for foreign music students. File:Musica1.jpg, Percussion class File:Aris Garit in performance (Gaia arts centre, Havana).jpg, Aris Garit sings his trova Gaia Teatro is located at Calle Brazil (Teniente Rey) #157, between Cuba y Aguiar, La Habana Vieja. In 2007, Gaia embarked on major construction work to create permanent workshops for its arts and community activities, including the building of a new semi-outdoors performance space. File:Gaia arts centre, Havana (interior).jpg, Gaia interior File:Stained glass in the Gaia arts centre (Havana).jpg, Gaia interior File:Gaia arts centre, Havana.jpg, Gaia colonial doors File:Gaia arts centre, Havana (exterior - 2005).jpg, Gaia from Teniente Rey 2005 File:Gaia arts centre, Havana (exterior) (2007).jpg, Gaia exterior 2007 File:maskworkshop.jpg, Mask Workshop under construction File:Stage under construction (Gaia arts centre, Havana - 2007).jpg, Gaia stage under construction 2007 File:Gaia2007construction2.jpg, Stage under construction 2007

References

* ''Time Out: Havana'', Penguin Books, 2001, * ''Time Out: Havana'', Time Out Guides, 2005, * ''Time Out: Havana'', Time Out Guides, 2007

External links

Gaia Teatro blog
a Spanish-language blog site and web portal for the Gaia Theater Troupe. {{coord missing, Cuba Theatres in Havana Arts centres in Cuba Theatres completed in 2000