Under the direction of Marianela Boán, a former dancer in Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, DanzAbierta creates what could be described as Cubanised post-modernism. Boán is regarded as the grande dame of contemporary dance and innovatively mixes the gestures of everyday life with social and political comment and techniques reminiscent of Pina Bausch. Her best pieces of recent years are El Pez en el Asfalto , a witty reflection on the absurdities of the Special Period; and El çrbol y el Camino , in which five naked dancers use coat-hangers like branches to portray the tree of life. The company rehearses at the Conjunto Folclórico Nacional building and performs in the Gran Teatro, Teatro Mella and Teatro Nacional. The company made its UK debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2000, where its production of El Pez en el Asfalto gained a huge amount of critical acclaim.