Cleveland Dance Movement and Verb present an open community workshop on April 29, 2022 featuring international artists, El-drick Aboagye and Bryan Andres Salinas! The evening will begin with El-drick Aboagye of Ghana leading introductory class in the art of African dance. Bryan Andres Salinas, from Colombia, will then take participants through a beginner salsa lesson. The purpose of the program is to elevate different creative voices and exchange dance styles. The evening will encompass two masterclasses by the international artists in residence followed by a meet-and-greet reception. Participants of all ages (10-adult) and ability levels are welcome. Together the two organizations seek to bring the community a deeper appreciation and understanding of cultures while finding community in dance.
6:00- 6:45pm Intro to African Dance taught by El-drick Aboagye
El-drick Aboagye hails from Ghana and is a second-year graduate student in the dance department at Case Western Reserve. He trained extensively in many West African traditional dance and music forms, African contemporary dance, salsa, kizomba and Ghanaian popular dance. He will be sharing Africa’s dance traditions with the community moving through Traditional African to Contemporary African. This class is 45 minutes long and open to all levels.
7:00-7:45pm Intro to Salsa taught by Bryan Andres Salinas
Bryan Andres Salinas joined Verb Ballets in 2022 from Colombia as a part of the International Cultural Exchange Program. He will be sharing South America’s dance traditions and will be teaching a beginner salsa lesson! This class is 45 minutes long and open to all.
8:00pm Meet and Greet Reception with artists
About Cleveland Dance Movement
Cleveland Dance Movement (CDM) is an arts coalition comprised of dancers, choreographers, educators, and community stakeholders, committed to the support and preservation of various dance forms through access, and integration of diverse world cultures! As an essential part of its commitment to dance, CDM brings to the region a series of professional development and masterclasses, beginning with hosting the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) in January of 2015! It is time we continue the legacy with “Back to school Back to Dance” Masterclass and lecture series.
El-drick Aboagye
El-drick Aboagye hails from Ghana and is a second-year graduate student in the dance department at Case Western Reserve. He trained extensively in many West African traditional dance and music forms, African contemporary dance, salsa, kizomba and Ghanaian popular dance, and earned his BFA degree in dance from the University of Ghana. Aboagye performed with Inlet Dance Theatre the summer of 2021 for their 20th anniversary at Cain Park, and toured with Djapo Cultural Arts Institute starring in The Root of it All for the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival in Ohio. Aboagye has enjoyed several years as principal dancer for Socharart Dance Ensemble and also performed with Artistic Visions, Ghana Dance Ensemble and Abibigromma. At Case Western Reserve, he has performed in works by Gary Galbraith, Pam Tanowitz, and Tingyu Xie.
Bryan Andres Salinas
Bryan Andres Salinas began his dance studies at the age of 10 at the Colombian Institute of Classical Ballet (Incolballet). In addition to studying ballet at Incolballet, he studied Colombian dances, contemporary dance, jazz, and salsa. After graduating high school, he participated in programs at Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, and Manhattan Youth Ballet. In 2015, he joined the Incolballet classical ballet company under the directorship of Jose Manuel Ghiso, where he danced in regional festivals and toured both nationally and internationally. During his time with the company, he worked with choreographers Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Tatiana Martinez, Ruben Bañol, Viviana Hurtado, and Marcos Rodriguez. He was also a founding member of the Fundación Ballet Capital company under the direction of Julian Garay. Bryan joined Verb Ballets in 2022 as a part of Verb’s International Cultural Exchange Program. He will be sharing South America’s dance traditions with Verb Ballets.
