Education
Young Barbadian Creatives Expand Skills Through Specialised Training Courses in Havana, Cuba
Three young Barbadian creatives are undergoing specialized training in Havana, Cuba. Aisha Comissiong and Kemal Marshall are learning Cuban dances, while Déandra Daniel is mastering artistic serigraphy. Training runs until September 20.
3 min read
Originally published by barbadostoday.bb (opens in new tab)
Three more young Barbadian creatives are benefitting from specialised training courses in Havana, Cuba.
Aisha Comissiong and Kemal Marshall are participating in a course on popular Cuban dances, while Déandra Daniel is receiving training in artistic serigraphy, also known as the art of silk screen printing.
The courses began on September 9 and will run until September 20.
The training, which is organised by the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana, falls within the framework of the Caribbean Cultural Training Hub of the UNESCO Programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity. This programme is funded by the European Union.
At the opening ceremony on Monday, Barbados’ Ambassador to Cuba, Dr Sharon Marshall, expressed satisfaction that young Barbadian creatives were taking advantage of the training opportunities offered through the Transcultura programme.
She noted that previously, Barbadians had been awarded Transcultura scholarships for training in cinematographic sound mixing; soundtrack design, multichannel music recording and mixing; and fashion design.
Director and Representative at the UNESCO Regional Office, Anne Lemaistre, explained that this was the fifth round of courses and that the programme had already offered 41 courses to over 600 participants.
The Barbadian participants spoke about their eagerness to take full advantage of the training opportunity.
Comissiong, who is a dancer and choreographer, said: “This is a full-circle moment for me, I’ve been wanting to come to train in Cuba since I was 18 years old. This has been a long time in coming, and I’m so grateful that I was selected. I’m here with other Bajans and with other Caribbean people and I’m really excited for the cultural exchange; and learning everything from the Cubans themselves. That is the most exhilarating part of the experience, to learn from the source, from the origin. So, I’m looking forward to a fruitful two weeks.”
Marshall said he was also looking forward to the training.
“I’m interested in cultural exchange and experiencing new things. This is my first time in a Spanish-speaking country, so I’m eager to learn more about their popular dances. I’ve done a course in Cuban dances before, so it’s nice to revisit it and see if I still remember what I learned before,” the dancer said.
