DIRTY DACING: HAVANA NIGHTS

The film tells a timeless story of a young woman’s love, sensuality and independence-but with a unique style and rhythm.

In my opinion Havana Nights combines romance, dance, personal history and self-discovery. In 1958, Katey Miller (Romola Garai) was a teenager living in St. Lois, Missouri, when her father an executive with Reynolds Aluminum, was transferred to Havana where he had taken an executive position at Ford.

Katey did not want to leave her life in St. Louis, but of course had no choice. Her family joined the other American families in residence at Havana’s luxurious hotels, where every need was catered to and people socialized at country clubs, private parties and luxury nightclubs and casinos. It was a culture shock for the family. They were a middle-class family and suddenly they were living in a fancy hotel with chauffeur available at all times.

In my view Katey was different; she discovered a culture where dance and music were part of everyday life. I think that the dancing in Cuba-how people moved was completely different for her. She had never in her life seen anything that looked like the dancing she saw in Havana, because when people danced it was about the freedom of their bodies. It was a part of their personality.

Katey was expected to join the smart set of American teenagers who were the Millers’ neighbors at the exclusive Oceana Hotel. Katey met Javier (Diego Luna) a waiter who also happened to be a brilliant dancer. They became friends and wanted to win a dancing competition because of a help Javier’s family. They wanted to win money and with that also an opportunity for Javier’s family moving to the USA, because only there they can live in a freedom.

At the night of the competition finally arrives, Katey and Javier are ready to take their place as a couple on the dance floor, but the country club and the streets of Havana were about to erupt in revolutionary violence…