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Live Cuban music and dance performances are regularly held in the city's many cultural centers. Some of these centers also host more traditional music and dance shows as well as literary events, plays, and art exhibits. At UNEAC, for example, you can find everything from lectures to performances of Santería rituals. The Palacio del Segundo Cabo in the Plaza de Armas is another literary and artistic hub.
If your Spanish is good, try to take in a play. These are held not only in theaters and cultural centers but also in such surprising venues as the Museo de la Ciudad in the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the Casa Natal de José Martí, and the Museo de Arte Colonial.
Havana teems with dancers. Drop by the Escuela Provincial de Ballet (Provincial Ballet School) at Calle L and Calle 19 and have a look at the 220 little swans-in-training. Each year 45 of 800 nine-year-old applicants begin working here. After five years, some 15 of them (and those chosen from the six other provincial schools) make it to the new Escuela Nacional de Ballet (National Ballet School) at Calle Prado y Calle Trocadero, under the supervision of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba's director and prima ballerina, Alicia Alonso. Other large dance troupes include Christi Dominguez's Compañia de Ballet de la Televisión Cubana (Ballet Company of the Cuban Television Network), the Compañia de Dansa Contemporánea de Cuba (Cuban Contemporary Dance Company), and the Ballet Nacional Folklórico (National Folklore Ballet). Reinaldo Suarez's Danz-Art and Regla Salvent's Compañia de Dansa del Cuerpo Armónico are among the city's many small ensembles, along with Marianela Bovan's Danza Abierta and Rosario Cárdenas's Danza Combinatoria.
Housed in a stunning pink mansion in leafy Vedado, this is the place to come to hear excellent groups performing Afro-Cuban and other traditional music. It's open on Saturday night only and the cover charge depends on the band playing.
has a full and ever-changing roster of events, including comedy shows, which take place on weekends at 7 pm.
This is a good place to hear traditional Cuban music and has a great authentic vibe. The best time to come is on Friday starting at 6 pm.
This large complex, which also contains a variety of restaurants, always offers some type of musical event. The Video Bar is open from 10 pm and offers music and comedy nights for an entry fee of CUC$5, while the Salon Boleros opens nightly at 10 pm for boleros-style music.
Also known as the Teatro García Lorca, the theater has a spectacular Baroque facade with white marble angels dancing gracefully on its four corner towers. It's a beautiful place to see operas, jazz shows, symphony performances, and plays. In addition, the National Ballet performs here under the direction of Alicia Alonso, who is now in her nineties but is still Cuba's honorary prima ballerina. There are two theaters here: the Sala García Lorca and the Sala Antonin Artaud, which is known for its avant-garde theater productions. At the time of writing it was closed due to ongoing renovations.
Home of the Sinfónica Nacional (National Symphony), which is currently directed by Enrique Perez Mesa, the performances here are much better than the ages and outfits of the musicians (who look for all the world like a high school band) would suggest. Listen to them deal with Handel's Water Music or Prokofiev's 7th, especially the allegro movements.
Home of the Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, this is the standard venue for contemporary theater, as well as for dance.
Cuba's most important theater is used for classical music and ballet performances, as well as for contemporary theater and dance productions.
This theater stages plays by contemporary playwrights.
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