Arts school brings Cuba to Vancouver

Dance instructor George Caceres teaches salsa dance moves to a group of VSAA students Wednesday in Vancouver. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

Cuban musician Javier Tabera teaches a group of Vancouver School of Arts and Academics students the steps to the cha-cha Wednesday. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

The beat began with the tapping of the wooden claves. Next came the shaking of maracas adorned with blue, green and yellow beads. Then, piano notes filled the air and the thump of drums vibrated off the walls.

Before long, the Cuban melody consumed the theater at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. The 100-plus students in the theater seats clapped along and tapped their feet to the beat. They stood and danced in front of their chairs and sang an occasional line of the Spanish lyrics.

For at least one day, the arts school activities revolved around Cuban culture.

Each year, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics teachers choose a country and theme to integrate into the curriculum. Themes from the past 15 years include Northwest writers, indigenous peoples of Australia and the culture of central Europe. Throughout this year, Cuban culture will be woven into the literature, dance routines and sheet music that the sixth- through 12th-graders study.

"It's a very rich cultural, historical and artistic investigation," said Fern Tresvan, a dance teacher at the school.

The students kicked off this year's theme Wednesday with the help of a few Cuban artists. A handful of Portland-based artists introduced the students to percussion instruments like claves and the guiro, taught them the steps to the salsa and cha-cha dances and shared their paintings depicting experiences in Cuba.

The goal, Tresvan said, was to introduce the young minds to the world around them.

"It opens up the world," she said. "It's wonderful to grow up in a great city like Vancouver, but we would like them to know the world as well."

Eighth-grader Sienna Ballou said she never felt like she knew much about other countries and cultures until she began attending the arts school three years ago. The annual themes and daylong activities have helped her to feel like she's visited other parts of the world.

"We're kind of experiencing it," Ballou said. "Actually, physically experiencing it."

This year's program gives the students insight into a country they generally don't learn much about and brings their book work to life, 12-year-old Allison Hunsinger said.

"We've been so disconnected from Cuba, so it's nice to be connected," the seventh-grader said.

The lack of interaction between Cubans and foreign visitors makes learning about the country even more interesting, 16-year-old Candra Ellingson said.

Ellingson appreciated learning about the different aspects of Cuban culture, particularly the dancing. As she danced along to the music and examined the paintings propped up on black easels, Ellingson said she tried to see the various art forms through the eyes of the Cuban people.

While the Cuban music may seem different than music in the United States, musician Gordon Lee said the two countries were both influenced by music from Europe and Africa. Lee and musician Javier Tabera said they tried to help the students experience all aspects of Cuban music with the hope that it would spark curiosity about other cultures.

Eleventh-grader Sabrena O'Day said she enjoyed hearing the artists' stories about growing up in or visiting Cuba and was excited about the break from the typical day.

"It's fun to get out of sync with every other school day and in sync with our theme," the 16-year-old said.