Dance Studio
EveryBody Dances with Movimiento Cultural Afro Continental, Inc.
EveryBody Dances @ Yale Schwarzman Center brings local and visiting dance artists to our Dance Studio to teach masterclasses in jazz, hip hop, salsa, modern, contemporary, precision dance and more! All community members are welcome. This week's class is a Bomba workshop led by members of Movimiento Cultural Afro Continental (MCAC).
Movimiento Cultural Afro Continental, Inc. will provide an educational and cultural masterclass focused on traditional Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba music, dance, rhythm, and cultural heritage.
The masterclass may include:
- An introduction to the historical and cultural background of the Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba tradition.
- An overview and demonstration of traditional Bomba rhythms, instruments, and musical concepts.
- Demonstration of traditional Bomba dance movements, including the relationship between the dancer and percussionist.
- Demonstration of traditional Bomba attire and cultural practices.
- Instruction in basic Bomba dance steps, movement, rhythm, and cultural protocol.
- Interactive participation, allowing attendees to experience Bomba through movement, rhythm, call-and-response, and dance.
- Live demonstration and/or performance by MCAC artists as appropriate to the instructional format.
This edition of EveryBody Dances is offered as part of Yale’s 2026 Latine Heritage Month programming in partnership with Despierta Boricua, La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos: Latino Cultural Center, Sabrosura: Yale's Undergraduate Premier Latin Dance Team, Dzana Dance, Afro-American Cultural Center, and Yale Latino Networking Group, with generous support from the Yale College Arts' Arts Discretionary Fund.
Movimiento Cultural Afro Continental (MCAC)
The history of Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba in Connecticut began in the mid-1970s with a group of dedicated Loiceños who worked tirelessly to preserve and celebrate their cultural traditions. During the 1990s, the Loíza Festival in Connecticut grew into one of the largest Afro-Caribbean cultural events in the region, featuring a three-day celebration at Long Wharf in New Haven that attracted thousands of visitors from the Tri-State area and Puerto Rico.
Movimiento Cultural was born from the inspiration and cultural legacy of the Loíza Festival. During the 1990s, Kevin Diaz served as the festival’s coordinator and as the artistic director of the Folclórico Bohío Dance Troupe—an ensemble of over 25 young students, musicians, and dancers who traveled throughout the Tri-State region performing Bomba at festivals, schools, civic events, and community celebrations.
In 2014, Diaz founded Movimiento Cultural to help fill the cultural void left by the conclusion of the traditional Loíza Festival. Since then, the organization has played a major role in elevating and preserving the Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba tradition throughout the state by offering weekly classes, workshops, educational presentations, and live performances at schools, festivals, and civic events.
Today, Movimiento Cultural operates in collaboration with the Viva Dance Fitness Center for the Arts in West Haven, providing weekly instructional classes for children, teenagers, and adults, as well as apprenticeship and advanced master classes. Through this work, the organization continues its mission of preserving Bomba traditions, elevating the genre, and building a permanent Bomber@s community throughout Connecticut.