Celebrating its 20th season, the 17th Annual Festival of Dance & Music features two weeks of world premieres, performances, master classes, and celebrations at venues in San Francisco.  The first weekend features performances of Mouth of a Shark,  a world premiere work choreographed and directed by CubaCaribe Artistic Director and Co-Founder Ramón Ramos Alayo and performed by Alayo Dance Company. A reflection on the lives of immigrants, Mouth of A Shark is inspired in part by Somali poet Warsan Shire’s poem,  Home. It will incorporate the choreographer’s extensive knowledge of Afro-Cuban dance forms into a conceptual framework of the dual identities of immigrants. It is also informed by the time Alayo spent in his birthplace of Santiago, Cuba in 2020 and 2021, working with young professional dancers from Danza del Caribe, the company he danced with before immigrating to the US. 

Opening night will also feature a Post Show Q & A and Reception with choreographer Ramón Ramos Alayo and award winning filmmaker, producer and cinematographer Reinier Charòn Morales from Santiago de Cuba.