Three more young Barbadian creatives are benefitting from specialised training courses in Havana, Cuba.
Those Barbadians are Aisha Comissiong and Kemal Marshall who are participating in a course on popular Cuban dances, while Déandra Daniel is receiving training in artistic serigraphy also known as the art of silkscreen printing.
The courses began on September 9 and will run until September 20.
The training, which is organised by the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana, falls within the framework of the Caribbean Cultural Training Hub of the UNESCO Programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity. This programme is funded by the European Union.
At the opening ceremony on Monday, September 9, Barbados’ Ambassador to Cuba, Dr. Sharon Marshall, expressed satisfaction that young Barbadian creatives were taking advantage of the training opportunities offered through the Transcultura programme.
Ambassador Marshall noted that previously, Barbadians had been awarded Transcultura scholarships for training in cinematographic sound mixing; soundtrack design, multichannel music recording and mixing; and fashion design.
Director and Representative at the UNESCO Regional Office, Anne Lemaistre, explained that this was the fifth round of courses and that the programme had already offered 41 courses to over 600 participants.
The three Barbadian participants spoke about their eagerness to take full advantage of the training opportunity.
Aisha, who is a dancer and choreographer, said: “This is a full-circle moment for me, I’ve been wanting to come to train in Cuba since I was 18 years old. This has been a long time in coming, and I’m so grateful that I was selected. I’m here with other Bajans and with other Caribbean people and I’m really excited for the cultural exchange; and learning everything from the Cubans themselves. That is the most exhilarating part of the experience, to learn from the source, from the origin. So, I’m looking forward to a fruitful two weeks.”
Fellow dancer, Kemal said he was looking forward to the training too. “I’m interested in cultural exchange and experiencing new things. This is my first time in a Spanish-speaking country, so I’m eager to learn more about their popular dances. I’ve done a course in Cuban dances before, so it’s nice to revisit it and see if I still remember what I learned before.”
Meanwhile, Déandra, who will be receiving training in serigraphy stressed that it is an avenue to acquire skills in a different artistic medium. “I’ve never been to Cuba, and I’ve never done screen printing. I’m really in a season of wanting to try new mediums and wanting to try new things. It felt serendipitous to come to Cuba given my spiritual interest in this space. So, I’m just excited to meet new people, try new things and absorb all that Cuba has to offer,” she stated.