Danza Fiesta: Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño

 Danza Fiesta: Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño is part of the non-profit organization Diversity in Arts and Nations for Cultural Education, Inc. ("D.A.N.C.E., Inc."). Danza Fiesta is a New York-based folk dance company of 25 dancers and musicians under the direction of the Puerto Rican folklorist, Ms. Gilda Rivera-Pantojas.  Today, Danza Fiesta's members devote a great deal of time, energy and enthusiasm towards celebrating, and preserving the traditions of our Puerto Rican heritage and culture.

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Meet the Best ARTISTS in the World

What makes an unforgettable spectacle? Danza Fiesta's lively and colorful montages combined with an array of talented artists, musicians, and dance performers all come together to give you a show that you will remember. We strive to bring the Puerto Rican culture, rhythms, and spirit to that will have an impact on you. We are very excited to bring Puerto Rico to you.

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Puerto Rican Folk Dances

We’re proud of every single production we put on, which is why we keep a gallery to showcase all previous events. Did you love a performance? Now, you can relive it. Did you miss a show that you wish you could have seen? Check it out here to get up to speed. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Bomba

Bomba originated in African, which was brought over by African slaves who worked on Puerto Rico's sugar plantations in the 17th century. It's a rhythmic music using barrel-shaped drums covered with tightly stretched animal skins and played by hand. Bomba is described as a dialogue between dancer and drummer. It's as if the drummer were challenging the dancer to a rhythmic duel. The dance can go on just a long as the dancer can continue. Bomba, is divided into different rhythmic backgrounds and variations, such as the Sica, Cuembe, Yuba and Holandes.

Seis

In the mountains of Puerto Rico, the tradition of the Jíbaro (country folk) was to celebrate the coffee harvest with joyful music and dance. Jíbaro music and dance was the principal musical expression of the humble and hardworking mountain people who worked the coffee plantations and inland farms of Puerto Rico. Lively celebrations always ended with a Seis Chorreao, the fastest of all the Seis rhythms. Seis has its roots in the musical forms that came to Puerto Rico from Spain during the time of colonization and settlement in the late 17th century.

Plena

Plena is an important genre of folk music in Puerto Rico and typically associated with coastal regions of the island. The Plena is a narrative song that details the pains and ironies of people and life in their communities. The Plena's words deal with contemporary events and is often called "el periodico cantado", or a kind of living newspaper. Plena's has an up tempo rhythm that invites all to dance to its hypnotic melodies.

Danza

The Danza originated in Puerto Rico, and it is one of Puerto Rico's formal ballroom dances. It flourished in the second part of the 19th century in the salons of the elite, landowners and criollos who had strong cultural ties to Spain, and was later also accepted by others in Puerto Rican society. The Danza accentuates the use of a woman's hand fan creating a unspoken language between the dancers.