SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Before each trip we survey and interview each traveler about their goals and interests, and then design a special program customized for them! Our network of contacts on the island is extensive, due to the personal relationships of our director and her family, for over 25 years. Each and every program we create meets all of the US regulations for People-to-People travel.
Below is a sample program schedule from a past trip...but keep in mind that each program is different, because it is designed for you and the others on your trip! The activities on each trip vary based on the time of year, the program you are in, and the participants goals and interests. However, some activities are so fulfilling, that they remain the same from trip to trip!
Day 1: Depart for Havana
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Arrive at Jose Marti International Airport and go to Hotel (or Casa Particular) for check-in.
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Trip briefing and lunch at hotel.
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Take a morning orientation tour of Havana, ending at the home of a professional folkloric dance troupe for an afternoon show of music and dance. This will be followed with Cuban-style Rumba with an opportunity for interactive discussion.
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Return to hotel to meet our team of instructors and take your first dance workshop.
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Welcome dinner with Cuban guests.
Day 2: Havana
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Breakfast
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Afro-Cuban workshop with our instructor team
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Focus: The Orishas in the Yoruba spiritual tradition
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Participants will learn together about the history and characteristics of each Orisha and divide into separate groups for percussion, dances, and songs
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Lunch on your own
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Site visit, performances, discussion and cultural exchange at a nationally renowned community project where local disadvantaged youth receive specialized training in visual and performing arts. They have produced very effective work that has revitalized a neighborhood.
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Buffet dinner at the hotel
Day 3: Havana
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Breakfast
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For dancers: an intensive contemporary dance workshop & exchange with a dance company at the Cuba National Theater
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For musicians and educators: a site visit to Superior Arts Institute (ISA), the national university for top-level arts students aiming to become artists, performers, or professors. Interact with the artists, professors, and students.
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Lunch on your own
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Visit the home of a well-known dance ensemble for an interactive presentation entitled “Contradanza to Casino and Everything in Between”—the evolution of Cuban social dancing. After the workshop and presentation we will have a cultural exchange with the dancers, musicians, professors, teachers, health professionals and others who work together in this ensemble.
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Buffet dinner at the hotel
Day 4: Havana
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Breakfast
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Visit the home of a well-known dance group where there will be a presentation of Afro-Cuban dance with live music , followed by a workshop with the artists.
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Lunch on own
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Workshops or site visits according to personal interests
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For dancers: a Cuban Contemporary Body Movement workshop with a nationally acclaimed choreographer
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For musicians: Site Visits to professional musicians in their workplaces with the opportunity to see performances and to have conversations with other musicians
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Buffet dinner at the hotel
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Day 5: Havana
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Breakfast
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Visit the home of the local children’s training project for dance. Separate into smaller groups for music, dance and physical theater workshops with local instructors
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Lunch and discussion at the Casa de la Amistad
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Intensive workshops or site visits in research groups
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For dancers : a Site visit to a local ballet studio to observe and meet the dancers and instructors
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For musicians: intensive workshop in a professional sound studio
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Attend a children’s dance performance including interaction with dancers
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Buffet dinner at the hotel
Day 6: Havana
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Breakfast
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Return for a full morning of workshops in Afro-Cuban dance & drumming with local dancers. You will reinforce your learning from Tuesday, as well as add dances of new Yoruba Orishas
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Lunch on your own
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Visit to an interactive museum of the Orishas and Yoruba traditions
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Dinner
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Good-bye party at the hotel with Cuban guests you have met during your time in Cuba
Day 7: Farewell & Return Home
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Breakfast at hotel (or casa particular)
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Group debrief of the trip
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Head to airport for your return flight home!