How could I study dance in a Cuban school?

Question: I was wondering if you had any recommendations for how I could study dance at an academy/school in Cuba.  I am interested in folklore and modern dance.  Do you know if La ENA / ISA offers such programs to foreigners or allows us to join their program?

Answer: One of the finest institutions in Cuba for doing serious studies in the arts – Music, Theatre, Dance, the Plastic Arts and Audiovisual Communication – is the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA or Higher Art Institute), located in Havana. Over the past years, ISA’s academic structure has expanded and one can now find affiliated branches in the provinces of Holguín, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba.

At present, ISA has some 360 professors, a large number of whom are practicing artists in their respective fields, a fact that provides great vitality and renewal to their teaching. Dance, which like all programs at ISA is open to foreign students, is found in their Facultad de Artes Escénicas (Faculty of Performing Arts).

To explore the possibility of studying at ISA, contact their Department of International Relations. The email address is  vrri@isa.cult.cu and your communication should be addressed to the director of International Relations, Sonia Ortega Bravo. The phone number is (537) 208-8075.

You can also consult the ISA webpage at   www.isa.cult.cu for information on their pedagogical and artistic work. In addition to providing basic information on the different careers and specialties that are taught here as well as on the structure, characteristics and function of ISA, the site also covers master conferences, events, post-graduate education and other topics related to the field of artistic teaching and cultural work. The website also aims to publish works that cover the widest spectrum of topics on artistic creation and cultural processes and to open a new space for debate and exchange on these themes and their effects on current Cuban society.

The address and general telephone number for ISA are:

Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA)
Calle 120 No. 1110
entre 9na y 13
Cubanacán – Municipio Playa
Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba

Telephone (537) 208-0288 or 208-0705 (main switchboard)