For the love of dance and music

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This article was published 17/08/2023 (755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Harold Rancano moved to Winnipeg from Cuba nearly 20 years ago, he was surprised that the multicultural city didn’t seem to have a large Latin American presence.

Along with his dance partner Regan Hirose, Rancano has helped change that. The duo — who have appeared on America’s Got Talent and act as judges for international competitions — operate the Dance World studio in Winnipeg, teaching Latin dance.

And this weekend, the pair take the stage under the bright lights of Folkorama’s Cuban Pavilion — they’re appearing at the event for the first time since 2017 — to showcase their bachata dance routine, which has earned them the bachata world championship nine times.

The dance style, which was born on the streets of the Dominican Republic, involves the partners flipping over each other, spinning and twirling with the type of style and grace it normally takes figure skaters to pull off.

Rancano’s journey to bachata began in Havana, Cuba, where he was inspired by his family to begin dancing from a young age. His mother was a kindergarten teacher who always loved music and dance.

“Once I started with her, she was able to teach me,” says Rancano, who works as a carpenter when he’s not on the dancefloor. “My family used to celebrate all important dates with dancing and music. From this I became inspired.

“When I went to school back in Cuba, a lot of my friends loved to dance and act so I (gravitated) to the arts.”

Dancing is an important part of Cuban culture; the mambo, salsa and cha-cha all have their origins in the Caribbean country. Rancano fell in love with bachata in his 20s and he is thrilled to put it on display at the Cuban Pavilion, where he is also the entertainment chair.

“Bachata has become a very beautiful dance… (with) all the influences from all different dances, like ballet and salsa,” he says. “All those different dances have influenced bachata.”

Cuban bolero — the romantic, passionate Latin music with hints of flamenco that has been made popular by artists such as Gloria Estefan — has also made its mark on the dance.

The bolero and bachata styles are represented in Rancano and Hirose’s performance at the Cuban Pavilion. They incorporate both the modern style of bachata, featuring faster-paced dances that include multiple styles, and the traditional form, which is slower and more romantic.

Rancano wanted to maintain and share his culture when he moved to Winnipeg in 2005, so he continued dancing for different companies in the city. He eventually met Hirose, who is a manager of financial reporting and recruiting as well as a licensed accountant, at a Latin company where they were both dancing. He asked her to be his partner and the rest is history.

“We started this journey as amateurs and were able to build ourselves to world champions in this style of dance,” Rancano says. “Nowadays, we are international judges for this style of dance on the most important stages in the world.

“We are very proud and very grateful to (find) this success and to follow what we love, which is dancing and music.”

Rancano feels dance is a way of life, an art form in which you can express your creativity with your body, which is something everyone can try. This may explain why even many professional athletes dance in the offseason to train their bodies and improve their footwork.

Rancano and Hirose also bring their cultural expertise to Dance World, which offers classes in Winnipeg. It is a way to teach people the universal language of dance while also bringing a greater awareness of their culture to Winnipeg. Their performance at the pavilion is yet another way to expose others to Cuban traditions.

“Today at Folkorama I’m able to express my culture, which is where I come from, my homeland, and bring it here to Winnipeg, which is my second home,” Rancano says.

The Cuban Pavilion is at the Heather Curling Club at 120 Rue Youville. Showtimes are 6:45, 8:15 and 9:45 p.m. today and Saturday, with late-night parties from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. each night.

sklyer.trepel@winnipegfreepress.com