I Live in a Very Connected World

I come from a big family. We grew up in Cuba and I have very fond memories of that time. Especially the dancing.

My mom is Cuban and my dad is American. He worked in the sugar industry in Cuba. When I was a boy, my dad was the best dancer I knew. We all grew up dancing. It was no surprise that my seventh brother, Septime Webre, became an amazingly creative choreographer and a bright star in the ballet world.

Septime introduced me to ballet and I was hooked. I devoted myself to understanding the art form and gave back to it in ways I knew how; namely, helping renovate a historic Sacramento school into performing arts studios. On May 7, my world connected in a way I could not have imagined. I went to see my first performance of the Sacramento Ballet in the building my firm helped plan, design and renovate as they performed my brother’s piece. Named after my mother Juanita and aunt Alicia – Juanita y Alicia – it is a narrative dance about the early days of our family in Havana.

Being in the new studio watching the Sacramento Ballet perform my brother’s piece about our family, I tapped into so many places. In that moment I came to understand that I live in a very connected world. I was overjoyed at how personal the experience was.

Dance enables you to find yourself and lose yourself…all at the same time. Unknown

 

Care to dance? Sacramento says yes.

During the performance, I also reflected on how uplifting it is when an entire community comes together to make something happen. CLARA Midtown, The E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts project, could only have happened because the stars aligned. A large group of people with disparate skills from different parts of the community came together to create this great performing arts complex in the middle of an emerging core of our City. It is a big joyful win for the performing arts in Sacramento.

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” Anthony D’Angelo

As I reflect on the performance and the venue, I am proud of my community’s accomplishments. My world is connected and in this instance, it has come full circle. Let the pirouette continue.

“Latin Nights” performances are scheduled at CLARA Midtown through May 25.