TDPS presents a series of three spring workshops with Cuban dancer and choreographer José Francisco Barroso. These workshops focus on the explosive and subtle sacred expressions of the Orisha (Yoruba deities), as well as dances of the Dahomey-Arará (Vodu, Gaga) and Congo (Palo, Makuta) regions. Barroso’s class offers students a strong understanding of polyrhythm and emphasize the kinesthetic distinctions of Afro-Cuban traditional dances, rhythms, and movements. Join us for all three, or just one or two! The class is free, but cash donations for the musicians are welcome and encouraged. Three Sundays: January 28, February 18, and March 18, 2018. 10:30am-12pm. All dance levels welcome. This class is accompanied by live drumming. From a very young age, Havana-born José Francisco Barroso studied the Cuban dance styles of son, casino, rueda, and rumba. Barroso describes these art forms as an expression of everyday life in Cuba and as a symbol of the vibrancy of the Cuban people. He was recognized throughout Havana for his skills in hip-hop and break dance, and studied with Cuba’s Compania Folklorica Raices Profundas. As a director, choreographer, and teacher, Barroso has received numerous grants and awards, including the Isadora Duncan Dance Award, a California Arts Council Artist-In-Residence Grant, and ACTA’s Living Cultures Grant Program, and has held many residencies at universities. Barroso also teaches a weekly class open to all on Tuesdays, 7pm, at ODC in San Francisco.