Faith Evans attended the Coca-Cola celebration of the Essence Music Festival yesterday at the Apollo Theater in New York.

Casual but still Thicksational!

This article is truly inspirational:

Barbara Paula looks nothing like a “classical ballerina”, but when she speaks of dancing on the stage, her face glows with confidence. ‘I always wanted to be a dancer, but I was heavy and never had the opportunity,’ she said. Paula is a member of Havana’s Danza Voluminosa, a group of plus-sized Cuban women who have become a well-established and respected troupe on the active Cuban arts circuit. Their performances draw large audiences and favorable reviews, challenging stereotypes about beauty and the arts.
Founder and choreographer Juan Miguel Mas, 42, came up with the idea in 1996, drawing on his own experience as a heavy-set dancer entranced by modern dance.
“The first performance was received with a lot of expectation and reservations,” he said. “The house was full and some people laughed, but others applauded. At the end, there was a big debate about whether it was appropriate for the stage and whether it was aesthetic or not. But we have continued, and we are breaking down barriers.”
The group has become quite popular in Cuba, its members’ girth something of an anomaly in a country where food is expensive, rationed and at times scarce. Members of the six-woman troupe weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Their art is also experimental, somewhat unusual in a country where many artists hold closer to classical and indigenous forms.
“This January we shared the stage with three thin dancers in a production called Alliances,” Mas said. “We looked for alliances between these types of bodies, in the end creating one body with the bodies of six dancers. It was a call for respect of our differences, not just between body types.”
With more than 30 dancers trained over the past 11 years, Mas keeps his regular company at six performers and enjoys no shortage of interest from women wanting to join the group. He also has no problems scheduling performances.
“Most of our dancers are afraid to appear in public the first time, but their confidence grows when they see the audience’s reactions,” he said. “And while that first audience laughed at the idea, now it’s different. People come now to the theater with expectations to see a serious work. It’s serious and professional.” Source