Irma de la Caridad Castillo Ruíz – Biographical notes

Irma Castillo was born in La Habana on September 30, 1964. Since she was only a young child she has shown a strong attitude for dance and she joined many folk performing groups achieving a good level of experience. She became the principal dancer of the Grupo de la Casa de la Cultura de Centro Habana and she actively performed in numerous cultural activities in La Habana. In 1980 she won first prize with this group at the Festival Nacional de Aficionados in Santiago de Cuba. In 1982 she begins her career as a professional dancer in The Afrocuban Dance Company under the artistic direction of Luis Chacón (named Aspirina), in Cuba Tourism National Institut.

In 1985 she became a member of The Folk Performing Group Raices Profundas under the artistic direction of Juan de Dios Ramos, founder of the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba.
In this group she developed her talent as folk dancer achieving an excellent level of style and performance. In the same period she collaborates with Estudio Lírico, directed by the soprano Alina Sánchez and she made her debut on stage in “Maria la O” and in the movies “Maria Antonia” and “Concierto Barroco”.

She attended the Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba in La Habana and in 1992 she graduated in Teaching Methodolgy of Cuban Folk Dances, with a study on the Danzón de Nuevo Ritmo in Cuba and Mexico, realized with her teacher Antonio Arcaño. This study made a valuable contribution to Cuban Nacional Dance teaching in Schools of Art. At present it is used by the Centro de Investigación de la Música Cubana (CIMUC) in La Habana.

The detailed knowledge of Afrocuban Culture and her teaching skills allow her to become a talented teacher of Folk Dances very soon appreciated by Graciela Chao, who was at that time the Director of the Departamento de Danzas Folkloricas of the Escuela Nacional de Artes de Cuba.

At the same time she can develop on her knowledge and her talent with numerous dance teachers such as Ramiro Guerra, Juan de Dios Ramos, Luis Chacón, Ana Luisa Cáseres, Manolo Micler, Ulises Mora.

In 1989 she won first prize with the choreographer Ulises Mora for the “Folklore Contemporaneo” project at the 1° Choreography Festival organized in Bayamo, Cuba, by the Asociaciòn Nacional Hermanos Saìz. Then she worked to develop this project in Nicaragua, Mexico, France, China and Italy.

Then she becomes a member of the Asociaciòn Nacional Hermanos Saìz.

Since 1995 Irma has been working in Rome and has founded ACHE’, The First School of Cuban Folk Dances.
The school’s aims are (cancella Cuban Folk Dances) teaching authentic Cuban Folk Dances, thus spreading the most representetive folk traditions of Cuban people.

In Italy she guests in some television broadcasts, in Fiesta, an Internation Festival in Rome, and she becomes the Artistic Director of many performances on stage, in the movies and in other artistic fields.

In many cases she collaborates with Cuban and International artists such as Juan Formell y los Van Van, Adalberto Alvarez, Eliades Ochoa, Josè Luis Cortès y NG la Banda, Compay Segundo, Polo Montañez, Isac Delgado, Migdalia Echevarria, Oscar de Leon. Besides she organizes concerts to introduce Gerardo Alfonso, Coralia Mestre and Francisco Blanca, Marta Campos, Eduardo Sosa, Gregorio Hernàndez and el Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro.

In 2002 she founded “Clave de Son” with Ulises Mora (Cuban Folk Dances teacher, Choreographer and Artistic Director), in honour of Nicolas Guillen, el poeta nacional cubano, on the centenary anniversary of his birth. The purpose is to internationally celebrate the famous Caribbean poet with many initiatives throughout the year culminating in Fiesta Festival.

Thanks to her teaching skills and her interest in studying, Irma develops an accurate teaching method combining dance theory, rythm and motion. The aim is a correct knowledge of the different Cuban Dances according to their authentic historical traditions and the contemporary reality of Cuban Culture.