Movimiento Caribe with Gabriel Nieto

Gabriel Nieto is a Venezuelan Artistic Movement Director, Movement researcher and dancer originally from South America. During an additional day of his stay in Scotland, Gabriel will offer a special session for dancers, social dancers, and anyone interested in experiencing rhythm through a cultural and human perspective.

"Movimiento Caribe" (Caribbean Movement) is an invitation to explore the Afro-Caribbean roots that have accompanied Gabriel since his childhood in the suburbs of Caracas, Venezuela. Through salsa, guaguancó, percussion, singing, and improvisation, participants will have the opportunity to discover different ways of connecting to rhythm through identity, listening, presence, and embodied experience.

The session draws from Venezuelan, Cuban, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, exploring how these traditions can enrich any movement or dance practice. Participants will engage in partner work, solo movement, rhythmic games, and guided improvisation, all supported by the energy, flavor, and musicality of Caribbean culture.

This class will be especially valuable for salsa dancers and practitioners of other partner dance forms who wish to deepen their understanding of the cultural and physical foundations that support these styles. We will explore principles of body release, coordination, musicality, rhythmic awareness, and organic movement, all of which are essential for enriching technique, movement quality, and connection in partner dancing.

More than learning steps, this gathering aims to share a living experience of rhythm as a form of connection, community, and cultural expression. Participants will be invited to experience the spirit, flavor, and identity of Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic traditions from which these dances emerged.

Open to all levels, this class welcomes dancers and non-dancers alike who wish to reconnect with these important foundations through play, movement, music, and the cultural environment from which Gabriel's practice originates.