Osnel Delgado Wambrug Named 2014 McKnight International Artist

Northrop and the McKnight Artist Fellowship program have announced the 2014 McKnight International Artist and a 2014 partnership with Zenon Dance Company. Cuban choreographer Osnel Delgado Wambrug has been selected as the 2014 McKnight International Artist, a program that provides a Minnesota residency for one international choreographer each year to work with Twin Cities dance artists to develop and showcase new work. This year the McKnight Fellowship program cohosts the residency with Zenon Dance Company.

Delgado Wambrug will be in residence in Minneapolis for two weeks in August to create a new work for Zenon. He will return for a one-week residency in November for final rehearsals. Zenon Dance Company will premiere Delgado Wambrug's new work at the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts, November 21-30, 2014. During each residency period, he will teach classes in Cuban dance at the Zenon Dance School and will participate in a variety of dance community events.

Linda Andrews, Artistic Director of Zenon Dance Company says "We are thrilled to work with international Cuban choreographer Osnel Delgado Wambrug and to partner with the McKnight Fellowship Program. I have a long-standing interest in Cuban dance, music and culture and am eager to bring Osnel's passionate, colorful work to the Twin Cities."

Mary Ellen Childs, Program Director of the McKnight Fellowship Programs at Northrop, states "Cuba has an incredibly rich dance tradition, and Osnel is on the verge of exploding onto the international dance scene. We typically have limited access to artists living in Cuba and to have Osnel here for an extended residency is a rare opportunity for the Twin Cities dance community."

Delgado Wambrug has received major Cuban awards including the Premio a Mejor Coreografia del Concurso Solamente Solos (Award for Best Solo Choreography), and a Special Mention award at the VII Iberomerican "Alicia Alonso" Choreography competition in Madrid. He was a member of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011 and founded MalPaso Dance Company in 2013, where he currently serves as choreographer and artistic director. Delgado Wambrug's work expresses the passion and uncertainties that define Cuban life and are embodied in the country's rich dance tradition.