Denmis Bain Savigne + Angel Yoel Mulen-Robert

Denmis Bain Savigne, from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba was a member of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba. He has choreographed for such people as, Kenny Ortega, Siegfried & Roy, Emilio Estefan, Manuel Mendive, Havana Nights Dance Company and the Latin Grammys. He has performed on Don Francisco Presenta, Cosa Nostra and with groups such as Orishas, Calle 13, Los Van Van, Bamboleo, Pacho Alonso and Issac Delgado. With the Havana Nights Dance Company he toured and performed in more than 16 different countries and was a lead dancer in about 450 performances of Havana Nightclub – The Show. Bain Savigne is the owner of Cuban Rhythm and Rumba Dance Studio in Vallejo, California.

Originally from Guantanamo, Cuba, Angel Yoel Mulen-Robert is a respected lead vocalist and percussionist of Afro-Cuban Yoruba, Abakua (Calabar), Rumba, Arará (Dahony), and Palo (Congo). He is also a lead vocalist for traditional dance music: Boleros, Son and Changui. Before coming to the United States in 2013, he performed and taught throughout Europe and worked with Donza Libre of Guantanamo, Cuba, Habana Sonlar Dance Company and Seven Potencias Dance Company in Havana, Cuba.

Rumba, a form traced back to Africa, is a uniquely Cuban improvised conversation between dancer and drummer developed in colonial barrios and ports of Havana and Mantanzas, where percussionists played wooden boxes. This innovative piece shows a snapshot of the day to day life in Cuba where neighbors meet up outside to socialize and play dominoes. In Cuba, Rumba and playing dominoes are both ways that people interact and communicate with each other. In this piece, the two artists skillfully combine the tradition of Rumba with that of dominoes.  

From the song: 

“Cuidado con cuidado, camino tiene espina,” (“Careful, be careful, the road has thorns”)
“Que nadie me mira mal, yo no vine pa bronca” (“Don’t look at me sideways, I didn’t come here to fight”)

The expression “Dale agua al domino” literally translates to “Give water to the domino”, but means so much more when spoken between friends, family or opponents. neighbors. It is used at the start of a game to say “shuffle the pieces,” and it can also be used in a moment of disagreement to mean “keep it moving, just keep playing.” No matter what the profession or economic status, in Cuba, dominoes are an equalizer.