Until August 31, 2025, the School of Dance at the National University (UNA) will celebrate the 30th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Gathering for the Study of Contemporary Dance, under the theme “Expanding Bodies: Inclusion, Technique, and Creation in Dance.” This commemorative edition not only honors three decades of sustained work but also reaffirms dance as a plural, inclusive, and constantly evolving language.
Specialists from Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean
This Gathering, which has brought together specialists from the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean for years, is consolidating its position as a fundamental space for the exchange of knowledge, pedagogical experimentation, and theatrical projection in the region. In its 2025 edition, the program revolves around three axes: technique, accessibility, and dance research. The program seeks to deepen the comprehensive training of artists and the creation of increasingly inclusive spaces.
The program includes master classes in contemporary dance and classical ballet techniques; an educational, community, and inclusive dance workshop with a methodological focus; discussion and research panels; and choreographic performances that promote diversity, accessibility, and connection with audiences.
This year, one of the guest artists is Mercedes Pacheco Pavón from Spain, who is a professor of educational and community dance at the María de Ávila Conservatory of Dance in Madrid. With a career focused on pedagogy, artistic creation, and cultural cooperation, Pacheco has worked on projects aimed at children and youth in situations of social disadvantage in countries such as Paraguay, Colombia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.
The specialist will lead a workshop on educational, community, and inclusive dance that focuses on creating spaces for cultural participation through the body, with a multidisciplinary approach. For her, dance is a powerful tool for exercising cultural rights, fostering collective expression, and strengthening the ties between art and community.
Hilda Islas is visiting us from the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature in Mexico. She is a dancer, choreographer, and researcher and will lead the workshop “The Game of Approaching and Moving Away.”
Performative translation of other dances. This proposal intertwines movement with theoretical reflection, exploring ways of corporatively translating knowledge that doesn’t always fit into traditional dance languages.
Islas is co-founder of the Master’s Program in Dance Research at CENIDI-Danza José Limón (INBAL) and has been recognized with the Josefina Méndez Prize in Cuba for her contribution to cultural development in that country. Her work opens a space for considering dance as a situated, plural, and sensitive form of knowledge.
From Houston, Texas, joins Randall Flinn, founder and artistic director of Ad Deum Dance Company, a company with more than two decades of experience on national and international stages. His contemporary dance workshop explores techniques such as Graham, Limón, and Horton, with a perspective centered on the human being, spirituality, and resilience.
Flinn has created works for festivals in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and has worked with companies and organizations such as Cirque du Soleil, the Houston Ballet, and the Mexican Ministry of Culture. His belief that dance can transform people and communities leads him to develop projects that integrate art, body mobility, and well-being.
Another featured artist is Mexican-American Verónica Yáñez, who will lead a limited-capacity workshop on classical and neoclassical ballet. Currently based in Texas, she is on the faculty of the American Academy of Ballet in New York, where she also serves as an adjudicator and choreographer for international seminars. Her work has received awards at competitions such as YAGP and Break the Floor, and is distinguished by its ability to develop dancers with a high level of technique and artistic sensitivity.
Closing presentation
The event will close with the presentation of the 2025 Season of the UNA Chamber Dance Company on August 31 at 6:00 p.m. at the Dance Theater; admission is free. The program will include a revival of the ex-votos “Ellos también gozan,” a work by retired teacher Nandayure Harley, in homage to her legacy and with the goal of preserving and highlighting the national choreographic heritage.
During 2025, the CCDUNA featured guest choreographers, including José Raúl Martínez, with his work “Reflexiones sobre lo Involuntario,” which provided an intergenerational exchange in the season’s stage composition.
As part of the program, the international Ad Deum Dance Company from Houston, Texas, under the artistic direction of Randall Flinn, will make a special appearance with the work Celtic Pilgrimage – A Journey of Redemption, consolidating ties with internationally renowned groups and promoting contemporary choreographic voices.
