SIUE Department of Theater and Dance professors C. Otis Sweezey and J. Calvin Jarrell visited Cuba earlier this year and came back with stories to tell and, of course, visions of spirited music and salsa dance, according to information from the Public Affairs Office. Sweezey and Jarrell traveled to Cuba to soak in some culture and also bring back a flavor of the island to students.

The results of their efforts will be seen in “Fusi n de Carnaval en Santiago de Cuba,” a vibrant dance with nearly 20 dancers moving to the salsa beat but also with African influences and a contemporary dance flavor. Fusi n will appear in Dance In Concert 2007, set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 7 to 10, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, all in the theater at SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall.

The concert also features works by Mikey Thomas and Kerry Shaul, also members of the SIUE dance faculty. “I wanted to make contact with some Cuban dancers and/or choreographers and, perhaps, visit the National Dance Museum in Havana,” Jarrell said in a press release.

“I met William Danger (DAHN-herr) who is artistic director of his own dance company, Santiago de Cuba, blending Cuban dance with contemporary movement.” Jarrell, who is a certified movement pattern analysis practitioner, said Cuban culture has for centuries had a tradition of music and dance. “The whole country moves, from the time they learn to walk,” he said.