Cubans throw weight around

HAVANA -- Cuban ballet dancers in white glide across the floor, executing an airy blend of pirouettes and back stretches. Within seconds, spectators are captivated, quickly forgetting what at first they couldn't overlook -- most of the dancers weigh more than 200 pounds.

Six dancers between the ages of 23 and 41 make up the island's Voluminous Dance group, which has presented about 20 works and is preparing its current show, "Una muerte dulce," or "A Sweet Death," for the spring.

"It's incredible how they utilize their roundness," Mirta Castro, a tourist from Costa Rica, said as she watched the dancers rehearsing in Havana. "It breaks free of the belief that dance is only for slender people."

That is exactly the taboo Juan Miguel Mas, the group's director, wanted to shatter when he created Voluminous Dance in 1996. He called together dozens of overweight people in Havana to a formal dance audition, where instead of choosing dancers partly for their shape and height, he looked for inner spark, eagerness and motivation.

"We obese people also need to express ourselves with our bodies," said Mas, who is also a dancer in the group.

While obesity is not a major problem in Cuba, where fast-food restaurants are almost nonexistent, the country is beginning to face some of the same health challenges confronting most of the world.

In the late 1990s, the government began urging Cubans to get more exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables in addition to their typical diet of rice, beans and meat.

Mas, who weighs more than 300 pounds, first appeared on stage with Cuba's Contemporary Dance troupe as a giant baby in the lead role of a 1989 production called "Absurdo," or "Absurd." He is the only member of Voluminous Dance, or Danza Voluminosa, who danced professionally before the group's creation.

Dancers in the group have come and gone over the years, Mas said. Money is scarce, and as an independent project, the group often scrambles to find rehearsal space and generate interest in their performances.

The group is not officially recognized by Cuba's cultural ministry, so none of the dancers receive full salaries from the socialist state. Instead, they earn some money for each contract. Mas said he thinks the reason behind no formal endorsement for the group is that most of the dancers have not received dance training from the state.

In a studio in Havana's Teatro Nacional, the dancers move with grace and sensitivity, surprising onlookers with their elasticity. Their leaps are limited, but arm motions are expansive and elegant.

The room becomes electric when the dancers suddenly drop to the floor and begin to roll over each other, as if part of a wave. The task appears effortless despite intense, passion-filled expressions on their faces.

Barbara Paula Valdes, 27, said she feels transformed after two years with Voluminous Dance.

"I changed how I walk, how I talk, the way I relate to people," said Valdes, who weighs 275 pounds. "I had an artist hidden inside me and didn't realize it."