Contributed
Arsenio Andrade-Calderon is one half of a beautiful human tapestry.

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Telling a story through movement with passion, versatility and powerful actions, Cuban dancer Arsenio Andrade-Calderon has an ever graceful presence on stage.

Once a student of the National Dance School of Havana in Cuba, Arsenio was not fond of dance in the beginning, but soon developed a love for his art that would last a lifetime.

When The Sunday Gleaner spoke with the accomplished dancer recently, he admitted that it was his mother who entered him into the dance school to learn ballet and other dances. As a young male interested in martial arts and other boyish pursuits, Arsenio mentally retaliated against learning dance - that is, until it became a part of him, as now "if I don't dance it's like I'm not anybody".

Prime importance

Growing up in Cuba, according to Arsenio, art and culture was of prime importance. "One of the good things about Castro was that he developed the culture with the education ... In Cuba they encourage you to learn what art is about, music, drama. From a baby you need to understand the value of art," he said.

While in his native land, Arsenio flourished under the tutelage of well-known Cuban dancer Eduardo Rivero, who was a good friend of Professor Rex Nettleford.

Voyage to Jamaica

It was through this connection that Arsenio made his voyage to Jamaica and the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) in 1995. It was the time in the NDTC when male dancers were few, and Arsenio made his name known through his charismatic stage presence. Arsenio himself soon developed into a master teacher and choreographer, with pieces such as Congo Laye, Dimensions and Fusion, among others, to his credit.

Every one of the dancer's pieces contains values and a message which he does his best to bring across to the audience, each set having a stage life of at least three to four years. Arsenio says he does his best to impress, as he regards the Jamaican audience to be a difficult one, with people voicing their displeasure openly.

He said "my dancing is very powerful. I tend to talk to the audience. The audience who comes to see it must understand what is happening - the movement most be so nice that they say 'wow that's a nice dance'."

An expert in modern, contemporary, classical, folk and whatever dance form he puts his mind to, the veteran dancer tries his best to communicate the art of dancing to his students. However, one of the drawbacks he has experienced while teaching dance is the lack of knowledge among dancers who have been trained in dancing techniques. Arsenio would love to see dancers come together to form a structured Jamaican modern and contemporary dance.

Professionalism

He would also love to see dancers attain a level of professionalism and respect that is due to their skill. Since dancing in Jamaica, unlike outside the Caribbean, Jamaican dancers, he attests, aren't paid enough for their skills.

He hopes to build his own dance school and company in the near future to assist in developing Jamaican dance.

"I want to put Jamaican dance on top of the world, so we can go to competitions and compete. Jamaica has very good talent ... we need to produce something people can come and buy. I want dance to be well paid in Jamaica," he said.

Arsenio has travelled and toured extensively with the NDTC, and is engaged in outreach work in the Netherlands and Suriname. He is remounting Congo Laye for the 45th NDTC anniversary, and is also creating a new work, Out of Many. He is still an excellent teacher and is married to fellow dancer Carol Orane.